The Atlantis Project
by Phenreer
Summary: Jack Dawe, the best friend of Milo Thatch, goes on the adventure of a lifetime. When Milo gets called off to the Whitmore Mansion to help guide the expedition for the lost city of Atlantis, Jack finds himself drug along with him. A story full of tragedies, adventures, and backstabbing, this twist on the original story will hopefully entertain and amuse you.
1. Chapter 1

**This is an AU, that means Alternate Universe to those who may not know. I understand that some of these things aren't exactly quoted from the movie, but it will be close. The characters will respond differently because of the story change, so it is just my idea of how they would act.**

Jack awoke with a start and sat up. Drool covered his arm where he'd been laying on it. His stubble beard itched and his eyes burned. _I really need to lay off the booze._ As he stretched, he looked up and saw Milo's disapproving stare.

" _Shit. Fell asleep. Again._ " He thought wearily. He gave his friend a sheepish shrug and his best smile. His smile could send girls into a horny tornado of embarrassment and blushing, but unfortunately Milo wasn't a girl, or gay. He shook his head with disappointment at Jack and slumped into a chair near the chalkboard. The broom cupboard that the museum had given him as an office was set up to look like the room he would be proposing his expedition to the board. The reason why Jack was there was to help his best friend to practice it and critique him. He for a moment he felt guilty. But only just a moment.

"How am I supposed to get the Museum Board to listen to my proposal if I can't even get my best friend to listen?!" Milo moaned. His messy brown hair was unkempt, much like his clothes. They looked slept in. His eyes however, didn't look like he slept at all. Even though he looked tired, he was clearly excited, or maybe scared. Jack did his best to recall what Milo had been talking about before he clocked out.

"I was listening!" Jack said sarcastically defensive. Milo pushed his round glasses to the tip of his nose and gave him a flat stare. "You were saying something about a shield, and a picture book and, other shit." Milo's head made a loud thump as it hit the table. Jack smiled.

"The shield is the key to finding the book, _the Shepherd's Journal_ ," Milo articulated the title, "and the book is the key to Atlantis. What we need to do is go to **Iceland** and retrieve the journal."

"Well you say a lot of boring stuff. I can't remember every damn thing." Jack retorted. Suddenly, the phone rang in the back of the room. Milo took off, stumbling over boxes and papers. The blackboard stood in between him and the phone. He flipped it over and slid over it.

"Cartography and Linguistics, Milo Thatch speaking!" He answered full of excitement. His excitement faded quickly. He mumbled a few things into the phone, climbed over to the boiler in the far corner, twisted a few knobs, smacked it with a wrench, and hopped back to the phone. He mumbled some more and hung up.

"I'm guessing that was the board calling to tell you about how excited they are for your presentation this afternoon?" Jack joked. Milo scoffed. People in the building often called him, telling him to fix the boiler so the heating would work. One of Milo's biggest faults was that he would get his hopes up way too high, just to have them crash down on him more times than not.

"That was the Gertrude upstairs; said the boiler was acting up again." Jack nodded to himself. That was Milo's primary job. Fixing the machine when it started to get cold outside. He would never admit it, but it was the truth.

Looking at the clock, Milo's glumness left in a flash, replaced by an excited smile.

"It's about that time. I'm finally getting out of the dungeon. Are you just gonna sit there or are you going to help?" Milo exclaimed. He rushed to gather his papers and maps. Jack took a moment to say a silent prayer for him. He knew that Milo was only going to get embarrassed and humiliated. He looked up to see Milo gazing at his grandfather's helmet. Even from across the room, Jack could see his face beaming with pride, and a little sadness. It had always been too big to fit on him. Jack barked a laugh when it slid down over his face yet again.

"Just like old times." Jack mumbled to himself as he got up and started grabbing papers and loading them into his friend's arms. A package made a thump as it fell down into Milo's tiki themed mailbox. Milo dumped the papers back into Jack's unexpected arms, causing him to drop most of them. He cursed and began to pick them up. Milo had to hold the helmet up because it was covering his eyes.

"Dear Mr. Thatch," Milo read aloud, "your meeting has been moved from four-thirty pm to three-thirty pm." They made eye contact, both of them with confused expressions. Another thump.

"Dear Mr. Thatch, due to your absence the board has voted to reject your proposal. Have a good weekend. Mr. Harcourt's office." Jack was stunned for a moment. _What assholes._ He caught a glance of Milo's furious face and he knew there was going to be trouble.

"They can't do this to me!" He shouted. Jack dropped the papers on the table and stood in front of the staircase door.

"Milo, listen. Don't do anything stupid. I don't want to have to bail you out of prison." Milo didn't seem to hear him. He was muttering angrily and rushing around to collect all of his research.

"I'll show them. I'll make them hear me!" Jack groaned. He was about to do something stupid, and nobody was going to talk him out of it. _I could knock him out._ Jack debated the thought for a minute before rejecting it. Milo would just do it later. There was no stopping him.

Milo brushed past him quickly and ran up the stairs. Jack tried to keep up, but his leg made it difficult. Before his accident, Jack had been a stud athlete. Now, it was difficult to walk up stairs, let alone run up them. _Fucking leg!_ He hobbled as quickly as he could after his friend.

By the time he got up the four flights of stairs, he was sweating heavily and breathing hard. It was very taxing for him to move that fast. The doctor told him that a cane would make it easier, but he refused stubbornly. He wasn't some old fuck who had back problems! He could do whatever he wanted without a cane. Plus it was only from the knee down. How hard could it be? Turned out it was very hard, but he would never let anyone see it. He was too proud.

He could hear Milo shouting through the tall marble halls, and the scuttering of feet. Doors slammed loudly. _Wimpy old fuckers._ They didn't even have the balls to talk to Milo. Milo! All five foot eight, a hundred and fifty pounds of him! It was almost funny, thinking about those fat old men running around with their rich suits and top hats. Any other time, Jack would've laughed. But right now he needed to stop Milo from committing career suicide.

He followed the trail of discarded papers until he got outside. Stumbling down the front steps, Jack tried to see where Milo had run off to. The steps were still slick and wet from the rain earlier that day, causing Jack's bad leg to slip. He didn't even have time to curse before the back of his head cracked against the hard marble. He could taste blood in his mouth. His eyes refused to stay focused. Slowly he drifted off into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter serves as a bridge between when Milo meets Helga to after his meeting with Mr. Whitmore. It also works to build Jack's personality. God Bless.**

Jack opened his eyes slowly. His head pounded like a drum. The taste of blood was gone, but the pain remained. His head was propped up on a pillow slightly. Turning it slowly, he got a look at where he was. He could tell by the white walls and curtains that he was in a hospital. A moaning sound came from the other side of the room, behind the curtain. The groaning made his headache worse.

"Would you shut up! You're not the only one who's hurting!" He shouted angrily, which sent him into another bout of pain. It felt like his head was going to explode. He closed his eyes and tried to relax. The mystery patient on the other side stopped. _Thank God._ After a brief moment of silent bliss, he heard the other person get up and walk over.

"Pssst. Hey!" Jack opened one eye. It was a young man, no older than himself. He had a bandage around the left side of his face. His short brown hair was a mess and looked like it hadn't been washed it days, his body looked like it too. He smiled at Jack. His teeth were yellowed from lack of cleaning. He shuffled over to his bed side.

"Imma let you in on a little secret." The man got even closer. "I'm not even hurt!" He lifted up the bandage to show him. His face was completely fine. He barked a quick laugh, smiling broadly.

"I just wear this and pretend to be hurt and the nurses give me morphine! I tell them it got like burned, or some shit, and they freak out." He laughed hysterically. "None of them want to see it, so they don't check on it. They wait for the main doctor dude. When he comes, I split. Pretty clever huh?" Jack lay there silent for a moment.

"Get out. Leave me alone." Jack growled through gritted teeth. The more the man spoke, the more his head hurt. His annoyingly high voice pierced into his head like a bullet. He just wanted a little peace and quiet. The man started to turn around. Relieved, Jack closed his eyes again.

"The names Cartman, Ron Cartman." Jack moaned and turned his head away from him.

"I don't care. Go away." He replied quickly.

"Some nerdy dude came in here and left you a note. I opened it for you. Don't worry I didn't read it." Jack turned back to face Ron. He was holding the envelope in his hand. "Actually, I lied. I tried to read it, but it don't make a lick of sense."

"Bring it over here." Jack commanded. Ron complied and handed it over. Even though his head was pounding, he gathered the focus to read it. It was written in Atlantian. _Milo!_ He had totally forgotten about his friend. He translated it in his head as he read.

 _Dear Jack,_

 _I hope you are feeling better. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you. Something has come up. I will be back to check on you later._

 _-Milo_

He and Milo had been writing things to each other in Atlantean for practice. They were both good at it now, at least as good as they could. There wasn't exactly a grammar book on the language. What could Milo mean by _something has come up_? Nothing ever came up for him. Ever!

"When was he here?" Jack demanded.

"They." He corrected. "It was him and some hot chick. Hot blonde, kinda bitchy looking. I was like, daaaaamn. She wouldn't let him stay for some reason." Jack was puzzled by that part. _A hot blonde? With Milo?_

"Get to the point!" He growled. God his head hurt.

"Ah right. It was last night sometime after you were brought in. I'll be honest, I was tripping at the time so I don't remember for sure. I definitely remember Sugar Tits; That's what I named her. We would have like twenty childr…" Ron continued babbling like an idiot, but Jack ignored him. _What was going on? Who is this "Sugar Tits"?_

"Did you hear them say anything about where they were going?" Jack asked, interrupting Ron's sexual fantasies. He stopped mid sentence and gave Jack a hard look.

"You know it's rude to interrupt." Jack gave him the _are you fucking kidding_ look and he dropped it.

"Right. Yeah. I wasn't exactly focused on the speaking and whatnot, if you know what I mean, but I heard the name Whitmore a few times." Jack's brow creased as his mind worked, trying to remember any connection Milo had to the hermit millionaire. He couldn't find one.

"The only reason I even remember that was because when me and my boys were in school, we broke into his house and got hammered. I threw up on the couch. It was aweso…" Jack tuned out again. The moron just wouldn't shut up. Whitmore was a fairly uncommon name. The man was a recluse, rarely seen outside of his mansion. Why Milo would be going there was beyond him. He tuned back into Ron's ramblings.

"... and I was like. "How did you get that candle stick up there?", but he wouldn't tell me. I think he sat on it. He was always a strange man, slapping my ass all the ti…"Jack coughed softly and Ron stopped.

"See! It's not that hard to be polite." Jack gave him a fake smile, which he seemed to buy. He grinned back.

Jack licked his lips. "You wouldn't happen to have any of that morphine stuff do you? I need to get out of here." Ron looked uncertain for a moment. Then he smiled and reached into the pocket of his gown.

"Normally I wouldn't share, but since we are friends and all…" He handed a syringe and needle to Jack carefully. Jack injected himself quickly. As the pain began to fade in his head, he started getting up.

"Thank you, uh, Ron is it?" Jack mumbled as he steadied himself on the bed post.

"Sure thing brother. I'd better get going to. The nurses should be catching on by now anyway."

He held his hand out. Jack shook it. _Dumbass._

It would've been hard enough to walk with the dizziness, let alone with a peg leg. He found his clothes in a drawer and put them on. Ron saw his leg, or lack there of, and let out a yelp.

"What happened to your foot, man!? Did you step in a badger hole?" He asked incredulously, laughing loudly. Jack rolled his eyes, refusing to look at him. _What happened to my own damn leg is my own damn business._ He finished putting his clothes on and made for the door. The narrow wooden shaft was difficult to walk on to begin with, let alone injured and doped up, but he managed to make it out the door. The nurses were too busy chasing Ron, apparently they figured him out, to notice Jack leaving. He walked to the road and called a cab. When the driver pulled over, he crawled in, and handed over some money.

"Where you headed?" The foul smelling man asked as he took the coins.

"Get me to the Whitmore Mansion."


	3. Chapter 3

**I swear the chapters will get longer. This is almost a prologue type thing. Things will heat up soon. Thank you and God Bless.**

"Here you are. Whitmore Mansion." The cab driver said as he brought the horse to a stop. The house was a ways out of town, but Jack had more than paid for it. He scooted out of the box and stepped out into the midday sun. He nearly fell to the ground in pain as his head exploded into pain. The morphine was wearing off. Got to find Milo. Probably got himself kidnapped or something.

The cab driver took off without offering to help or anything, sending dust into his face. Coughing, Jack took a few ginger steps toward the house. A large metal W seemed to hold the iron gates closed. He approached them carefully. The mud from the night storm had turned the road into a minefield of nooks and crannies for his bad leg to slip into. When he shook the gates, to his surprise, they opened with a slight creak. He looked to see if anyone was around. After a few seconds, he headed up to the front doors.

Why would you have gates if they aren't even locked? He thought. It didn't make sense, but this whole situation didn't make sense. Hopefully inside he would find Sugar Tits and she would tell him what she did with Milo. The whole situation made him queasy; or maybe it was the pounding in his head. Whatever it was, he didn't like it.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Jack muttered as the doors opened to his gentle push. The house was lit brightly, as if Whitmore was expecting company. His wooden leg made loud clicks against the marble floor. Paintings littered the walls on both sides of the hallway. He barely took notice of them. Staying on his feet took priority to looking at ugly old people in ugly old pictures.

A large wooden door was swung wide open, leading into a study. The room was enormous. A fireplace blazed off on the far wall. There was sparse furniture for as large a room as it was. The few end tables and coffee tables were coated in a thick layer of dust. He looked off to his left and even with the pain in his head, let out a burst of laughter. He instantly regretted it as he fell down onto a couch, his head flaring up in pain. The thing that made him laugh was a picture of what must be Whitmore; it was covered in dry vomit.

"I see you found my portrait." A white haired man in a suit stood right behind him. Jack jumped at the noise. He looked at the man dazed. His head felt like it was going to burst.

"Buncha teenagers broke in one night and were messing around. Had to chase them out with a shotgun. Boy you shoulda seen them run." He chuckled. He had the voice of a man who had smoked his whole life, and then some. He was short and frail, yet he seemed to have this air of power that made him seem ten feet tall. Jack stammered, his tongue unable to make words correctly.

"What did you do with Milo?" He demanded, or attempted to. His tongue felt fat and heavy. The old man looked at him quizzingly. He opened his mouth so speak, then stopped. He turned and walked over to a small cupboard and produced a bottle and a cup.

"You obviously know who I am, I mean my name is plastered to the front gate! So I needn't introduce myself. Here. This will help dull the pain." He handed him a glass of whiskey. His hands were trembling, but he and managed to get a drink. Grunting in thanks, Jack downed the rest of it. The pain started to dull almost instantly.

"Thanks." Jack managed, gasping. He still suspected the man, but it didn't seem likely that he would kidnap Milo for ransom or whatnot. Whitmore nodded and sat down in a seat next to the couch. Jack managed to sit up. After a few moments, the old man spoke again.

"I didn't know Milo had a friend. I thought he was more of the solo type." Jack handed the glass back to him. He refilled it for himself.

"Had I known, I woulda brought you with him. Where were you last night Mr...?" He inquired.

"Jack Dawe. And I was In the hospital." He answered gesturing to the bandage around his head.

"Milo didn't even mention you." Jack chuckled indignantly. Why would he? It's not like I'm his only friend in the world!

"I'm guessing this has something to do with Atlantis doesn't it?" Again, Whitmore looked stunned, though he quickly regained his composure. Jack smiled. It made him feel good to make other people feel stupid, even if it was just for a second or two.

"You know abou… Never mind. You obviously do." He twirled his mustache with one finger, looking at him like he was a different person.

"Yeah. I know about Atlantis. I know about the Shepherd's Journal. I know about the powersource. Hell, I can even read the damn language." Whitmore sat back, holding his drink off to the side of the chair. Jack started to get annoyed.

"Listen you old coot. Just tell me what you did with my friend!" Whitmore held up a hand to stop him.

"I'm sorry. Sometimes I just lose track of the topic. Milo is down at the docks getting ready for the expedition." Jack looked at him suspiciously.

"The expedition? What the hell does that mean?" Whitmore leaned in close.

"An expedition to Atlantis." He sat back like he had just made the greatest announcement in the world. Jack's facial expressions never changed. This guy is so full of shit.

"Sure. Yeah. Let me just hop into a flying car with Santa Claus and head down there. Seriously, what is he doing there?" The elderly man seemed confused. Did he honestly think that he was that stupid? Who in their right mind would fund an expedition to look for the lost empire of Atlantis? Even the museum knew it was a waste of money.

"I'll have a car take you down so you can say goodbye." He grabbed his cane and headed for the door. The dizziness that Jack had been feeling was dimmer now. He managed to get up and follow, but not before throwing up. It covered the same picture he saw before. Huh. That's ironic. Wiping his mouth, he worked his way along the wall, using it to stay balanced.


	4. Chapter 4

**I hope you find this chapter interesting. It introduces a few familiar faces. Thanks for reading and God Bless!**

The long car was empty except for Jack and Mr. Whitmore. Jack had his eyes closed, grateful for the dark drapes that held the sun at bay. Once in awhile he would open them just a peek, to see what the old man was doing. Most of the time, he was gazing out the window, daydreaming or something like that. A few times, however, when Jack opened his eyes, he saw him staring right at him, judging him. It was kind of creepy. The sooner they got to the bay, the sooner he could say goodbye to the pedifile across the cab.

Neither of them spoke for the entire drive. Besides the few peeks, Jack ignored the millionaire. All he wanted to do was get to Milo and wring his neck! _What kind of friend is he? Doesn't seem to care enough about me to bother saying that he was leaving?!_ These thoughts burned in his head. After an hour or so, they reached their destination. The driver got out and opened the door. Jack covered his eyes to keep them from getting exposed.

"Milo should be loading his things onto the ship now." Whitmore said as he put on his hat. "If you hurry, you should be able to say goodbye before they set off." With that, he walked off. Jack crawled out of the car slowly, giving his eyes time to adjust. It seemed to have gotten cloudier since he first got into the car. The sun didn't shine as brightly as it had earlier. Squinting, he looked around to see what was happening.

He stood on the road leading up to the docks. An enormous ship was sitting there. Dozens of people flocked in and out of it, carrying various loads. As he got closer, he saw that most of them were wearing a military type outfit. They moved like military personnel too. The wooden walkways were hard for him to walk on. He had to focus on the ground if he didn't want to take a swim. Suddenly, he bumped into a large man in an officer's uniform. Jack cursed as he started to fall. A big strong hand grabbed his shoulder just in time.

"You might wanna look where you're going." His deep voice had an air of power to it, the kind of voice that gets obeyed. Jack looked up at him. He had strong chin and a chiseled jawline. His greying hair was cut short and his face was clean shaven. He looked like an army general. The way he stood added to the image.

Jack, who was still holding on to the man's arm, quickly grounded himself. He looked up at him with a challenge in his eyes. Just because he was a cripple didn't mean he needed anybody else's help.

"Maybe if some people weren't prodding around like drunk mules I wouldn't have to." The man's eyes hardened. His bushy brown eyebrows were furrowed at him disapprovingly. It was obvious that he wasn't used to being addressed like that. After a moment, he chuckled softly.

"Son, you really ought to respect an officer. I'm Commander Rourke. Who might you be?" He asked, although it sounded more like an order. Jack's jaw hardened. He hated people of authority. They always thought they were better than him.

"Jack." He answered curtly. He tried to walk around him, but the large man blocked his path.

"Well, Jack, if you are going to get on my boat you had better hurry. We set sail within the hour." With that, Rourke turned and headed back to the ship. Jack wanted to stick his tongue out at the man, but there wasn't time. The boat was enormous, and he would be lucky to find Milo before the boat left. He moved as fast as he could with his given condition, which wasn't all that fast. He bumped into people as they moved the last of the cargo off the docks. They cursed at him, but he ignored them. He needed to find Milo.

After twenty minutes or so of looking, Jack decided to look inside the ship. He had thoroughly searched the docks and found no sign of him. He followed the last of the sailors onto the ship. It was enormous, even on the inside. The cargo bay roof had to be twenty feet up. It was stacked full of assorted boxes and supplies. He noticed one of the boxes was full of machine guns. _Why would the bring machine guns on an expedition?_ He dwelt on it for just a moment before moving on. It wasn't important.

As he made his way through the people and boxes, he found himself in the bunk area. Each room had four cots. He would have to duck if he wanted to enter one of them. This part of the ship was eerily quiet compared to the hectic lower levels. The tiny hallways could barely fit two people side by side. Jack leaned on the wall, trying to catch his breath. His knee was starting to hurt and he felt dizzy. _I should just close my eyes for a minute._ He slid down to the floor. Suddenly, it became nearly impossible to keep his eyes open. They were weights pulling down. He didn't even notice when he fell onto his side. There was just darkness. Darkness and pain.

"Hey! Are you okay?" A deep voice asked. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He tried to open his eyes and speak, but he was too tired. For some reason, the back of his neck felt cold. Actually, he felt cold everywhere. _Why didn't my parents want me?_ He would've been surprised by the thought if he wasn't totally delirious. His brain was going blank.

"I need some warm towels and bandages! His head is bleeding and he probably has a concussion." Before long, Jack felt himself being lifted up and set back down on a bed. He kept drifting in and out of consciousness. During his brief moments of lucidness, he noticed that the doctor was a black man. That was odd. There weren't very many black doctors. His bald head reflected light, adding to the surrealness. It all felt like a weird dream.

"Hey. Are you with us?" Jack opened his eyes slowly. The doctor was snapping his fingers in his face. Jack blinked several times. His eyes weren't adjusting very well.

"I'm Dr. Joshua Sweet. What's your name?" He asked. He shined a light into Jack's eyes one at a time. Dazed, he just lay there, staring blankly at it. The doctor clicked the light off and wrote something down on a notepad.

"What's going on?" Jack barely got the words out. His mouth felt like cotton. He licked his lips, trying to get some moisture in them.

"You hit your head real good. You're eyes are unresponsive to light, so I believe you have a concussion. It shouldn't be permanent, but you'd better lie down for a while." He helped Jack get a drink of water. It felt like heaven. He tried to gulp down as much as he could, but Joshua stopped him. He tried to grab the glass himself, but he pulled it away.

"Shouldn't drink too much yet. You may still vomit. That's a symptom." Jack relaxed back down onto the pillows. His head didn't hurt nearly as bad as it did before.

"What did you give me doc? I feel so much better." He asked.

"A little morphine, but mostly you needed rest. In a few days you should be fine." _A few days?!_ Jack tried to get up but he was pushed back down.

"You don't seem to listen well. You aren't leaving this bed. Because you are my patient now, you will be coming with us on the sub. It wouldn't be right for me to leave you now." _That's just fucking great._ Jack growled in his head. His eyes started drifting again, but he forced them to stay open.

"I need to find Milo Thatch. Nerdy fella? Big glasses?" Joshua nodded, smiling.

"Yeah I just met the kid. Seems nice, but not really a talker." Jack felt a surge of relief. At least Milo was here. He chuckled a little at the description he gave. It totally fit Milo's personality. Jack was always the more charismatic one, especially with the ladies, where Milo was a more mild, soft spoken person. Unless he was talking about Atlantis of course, then he wouldn't shut up.

"Can I see him?" Jack questioned.

"I'll see if I can find him." WIth that, he left Jack's side and left the room. _He'd better find him fast._ A tired spell came over him. Before he knew it, his eyes were shut and his breathing slowed. _Milo had better be here when I wake up._


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello again! Thanks for reading. This chapter is the first major turning point of my AU. Hope you enjoy and God Bless.**

"Jack! Jack get up!" He opened his eyes slowly and yawned. He felt like he'd slept for three days. His eyes adjusted slowly. He saw the face of his dear friend Milo. He had a panicked look on his face.

"Milo. So nice to see you!" Jack said with another yawn. Milo didn't seem to notice. He started pulling him out of bed. Jack yelped in pain as he hit his head on the bunk above. "Ow! What the hell man!?"

"We are evacuating the sub! We need to go now!" Jack stood there confused. _Sub? We're on the ship._ On a second look, he found that he wasn't where he'd been when he fell asleep.

"How did I get here?!" Jack exclaimed wildly. Milo grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door. Jack did his best to keep up, but as usual, his leg made it difficult. He didn't feel nearly as dizzy as before, but it was still pretty bad. Plus his head ached where he had hit it the day before..

"Sweet brought you here. Took you off the ship. Doesn't matter. We need to get to the escape pods!" Milo was truly panicked. It made Jack start to panick. _What the fuck is going on!?_

"Why do we need to get to the escape pods?" Jack managed to say as he was pulled along. It was very difficult to multitask in his present condition.

"The leviathan found us. It attacked the submarine and it's leaking." Milo panted. "Once the water reaches the boilers we are done for." The _Leviathan?_ Jack thought in dumbfounded wonder. _Thought that was just a myth._ The entire sub jarred to the side, knocking both of them into the wall. Jack felt his left arm crack. He cried out in agony.

"Come on Jack! Get up!" Milo pleaded. He had a cut on his forehead that bled into his face. Also, his glasses were shattered in two. He threw them off and grabbed Jack's one good arm. He could hear the entire submarine creaking and falling apart. Jack screamed as Milo helped pull him up. The pain was almost too much to handle. He was getting even more lightheaded.

"I can't. I can't keep up." Jack breathed . He fell to his knees. "You need to go. Leave me here." Milo stopped in the metal doorway.

"It's my fault you are even here! You would still be at home, safe, if I had just waited for you. I won't leave you again." Suddenly, the entire sub shook. Electricity pulsed through the walls. _An electronic blast?_ Jack wondered dreamily. _What a bad ass._

"I will carry you if I have to!" Milo pulled him up and propped him up on his shoulder. At this point Jack had maybe half of his motor control. His feet didn't work and his brain was fried. His peg leg's straps came off when it got stuck in the door frame. There wasn't time to go back and grab it. Frantic sailors sped around them, not a single one stopping to help. He couldn't really blame them. He wouldn't help somebody in that situation either. He would save himself before he'd save a stranger.

The sound of rushing water brought Jack back to reality. As he hobbled along, he glanced back behind them where the sound came from. The sub had a huge hole through it, letting gallons of water flow through the tube like hallways. _Oh fuck!_ Jack clutched his left arm to his chest and tried to hop faster.

"Hurry up! We have to close the door!" Someone shouted from the next corridor. Jack looked back again. The water was quickly gaining on them. They'd be lucky to make it in time.

"Milo, the water is catching up!" Jack shouted over the noise. Milo merely grunted, obviously straining to keep Jack up. They were just a few feet from the door. The terrified man urged them to hurry. Time seemed to slow, each step taking more and more time. _I'm going to die._ The thought was the clearest thought he had had in days. The ship took another jolt. Milo shoved Jack forward.

"Go!" The push was enough to push Jack through the doorway, but it stopped his momentum. Milo fell face down onto the floor, several feet from the door. As Jack lay on the floor, he heard Milo shout to close the door. The flood was now within a few feet of them.

"Close it! Get to the escape pods!" Milo cried out. Jack realized then what had just happened. _He sacrificed himself to save me._ The metal clanged shut, sealing Milo's doom. Jack stared back at it dully as the sailor drug him to a pod. He couldn't believe it. Milo was dead.

He barely felt anything when he was dropped onto the floor of the little vessel. It shot out just before the entire sub exploded. The shock-wave shook the escape pod. The pilot cursed and pulled on the steering. Jack got into the other seat and strapped himself in. _I'm not going to die now. Not after what he did for me._ The other escape pods started heading into a crevice. The radio turned on and a message came through. Jack's ears starting ringing, so he couldn't hear what was said, but the other man did. They veered down and followed the others.

The tunnel was dark except for the headlights. It made maneuvering very difficult. They hit the side several times, cracking the windshield. Water leaked through the hull in several places. The little vessel creaked and moaned under the pressure. Jack said a silent prayer. _Don't let me die in here._ All of the sudden, they veered up, shooting to the surface. He could see more now. They were in a cavern. Other pods were already floating, shining spotlights into the darkness. Any other time, Jack might have marveled at the natural beauty of the cave, he did enjoy that sort of thing, but he barely noticed it now.

"You need medical attention. Here," the sailor said, holding out his arm, "let me help you." He popped the top off. He was another younger man, like himself. His blonde hair was bloodied from carrying Jack. He had a rugged face, but not unattractive. Jack wasn't gay, but he could appreciate a handsome man's looks. _Why am I rating this guy?_ Jack thought suddenly. It was to keep his mind off of his present situation.

Lifeboats were going up to each of the pods and bringing them to the shore. A boat came for them after a few minutes. Once they reached the beach, a nurse came and took Jack to the medical tent. The nurse was a strong man, lifting him easily. The pain was coursing through him like an electric shock. Each heartbeat sent another pulse of pain.

"Morphine." Jack moaned as he was laid down on a makeshift cot. The nurse nodded and left. He looked around him. There were about twenty other people in the tent. They all had bandages on them already. _I must've been one of the last pods to make it._ The groaning reminded him of the hospital he'd been at just a few days ago. _I wonder if Ron made it out._

"Here." The nurse injected him with the drug. It soothed his physical pain, but mentally he was a wreck. As he got bandaged up, he thought about Milo. They'd been together since they were ten years old. Jack's parents also died in an accident when he was young. Not having any other family that would take him in, he was put into a pastor's home. Over the course of a few years, he moved around the state, going from one pastor's home to another. Some of them were nice, but others weren't. He'd been put into a family in Washington D.C. when he was ten. The minister was an egotistical douche dick who believed he was the one and only voice of the Lord. He often abused his wife and Jack too.

He lived that way for almost half a year before meeting Milo and his grandpa Thaddeus. One of Jack's escapes was heading out into the country. That's where they first met. They were walking through a river, searching for rocks. Jack and Milo played for hours. Thaddeus had asked him where he lived. He lied and said he didn't have a home. It was Milo's idea to bring Jack back to live with them.

They became best friends almost instantly. Grandpa Thaddeus, as he liked to be called, took great care of him. He provided clothes, food, shelter, and most importantly, love. None of his other "parents" had ever truly given him that. Even though he now had a great life, the years of moving around and abuse had taken a toll on him. He was very egotistical himself. He always thought he was better than everyone else, Milo excluded, because of his intelligence. Both he and Milo were almost genius level, but Milo had more desire and drive. He studied harder than Jack, where Jack spent more time chasing girls and getting street smart.

When Thaddeus died, they moved into an apartment building. They both had their own; Jack could hardly bring a girl back to his room if he had a roommate. He took a job at an automobile factory. It was menial work, but he didn't really have any credentials to get a better job. Milo went to the museum to follow in his grandfather's footsteps. One day at work, Jack cut himself badly on his left calf. He had been goofing off and he slipped in an oil spill. He was so prideful and idiotic, he refused to get it treated. He figured he could do just as good as a doctor. It got gangrene and had to be amputated at the knee. He had to quit his job at the factory; and then took a job as a janitor in the museum where Milo worked. It was humiliating, cleaning up other people's shit. All because he wouldn't go to a doctor. It seemed so stupid now. It **was** stupid.

"Hey!" A commanding voice said. Jack came back from his flashback to a familiar face. One he didn't much care for.

"Rourke." Jack said through gritted teeth. He really didn't like him. Their personalities clashed, each one trying to dominate the other. It wasn't really Rourke's fault. That's just how Jack was.

"Good to see you alive." Rourke said without a hint of genuineness. He had the same fake smile on he had had on the docks. Next to him was a beautiful young blonde. _Sugar tits._ The name brought no humor to him now. She was part of the reason Milo was dead.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Jack asked. He flashed his best smile at her, but his eyes had nothing but disdain in them.

"This is Helga Sinclair, my lieutenant." She glanced down at him with equally as much disdain. _Oh the things I would do to you._ The thought was odd, given his emotional state. Must be the drugs. _But seriously though. I'd pound the sh…_

Rourke knelt down close to him, interrupting his thought. "Where is Milo? He went back to get you before I could stop him."

"Dead." Jack said somberly as he turned his head away.

"Do you at least have the book?" Jack turned right back and glared angrily at him. He didn't even care that Milo was dead!

"He's dead! Do you even care?!" Jack demanded ragefully. Rourke grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him up close to his face. His eyes burned.

"You don't think I care?!" He whispered angrily. "Nearly a hundred and fifty of my men are dead! How would it look if I broke down and cried over every one of the dead? I am the backbone of this crew! Show some respect." He threw Jack down back onto his pillow. He hated to admit it, but Rouke was right. Somebody had to lead them.

"I don't have the book." Jack muttered. Rourke cursed loudly, getting the attention of the other patients. Everyone looked up at him. He stood up and stormed out of the tent, followed closely by Helga. She glanced back at him before heading out. Jack thought he saw a tinge of sympathy. _I don't want your sympathy. I want Milo back!_ The sound of moaning filled his ears until he fell asleep. His last thought was an image of Milo's terrified face right before he died. _I'm so sorry..._

 **Hopefully this helped you understand Jack a little better. From here on out, some things will be different from the movie. Thank you and God Bless.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello. This chapter begins to explain Jack's childhood so you can get a better understanding of his personality. Hope you like it. Thank you and God Bless.**

The caravan of trucks and wagons moved slowly through the tunnels. The mole man rode in front with his driller, followed by the rest of the trucks. The medical wagons took up the rear. That's where Jack lay. His wounds were starting to heal, but his head was still fuzzy. Doctor Sweet hadn't had time to make him a replacement peg leg, so he was forced to ride. He was grateful in a way. Walking was so much harder than it used to be. The bad part was having to listen to the constant complaining of the other injured.

Jack spent most of the time trying not to itch his arm. The makeshift sling was made of cotton. It itched something fierce, but it was better than nothing. Plus, it provided a distraction from his thoughts. Milo kept plaguing his dreams, and tormenting his conscious mind. His face had burned itself into his brain. It was all he could think about. He knew he needed to let him go, but it was almost impossible. They had grown up together. They were brothers, best friends. He couldn't let go.

"Hey Dawes!" The little mexican mechanic said as she jumped onto the side of the wagon. He smiled at her. She was another great distraction. Audrey was the youngest person of the group. She didn't act like it though. She had an air of confidence that made Jack feel safe. It was weird that the big lipped, cute girl could make him feel that way. She was always smiling and would often talk with him for hours, or until a piece of machinery broke down.

"Hey Ramirez." Jack said smiling. She was the only person that came and talked to him, besides Sweet, but Sweet was too busy to stay long.

"I overheard Rourke and Helga talking in their truck. I guess they have no idea where we are going." That seemed to dampen her mood. _Of course it would. We could all died of dehydration._ But she quickly perked up. "I saw them doing it again." She and Jack both laughed. Apparently Rourke and Helga were a thing, or at least fuck-buddies. From what Audrey had learned, it was mostly a one-sided relationship.

"Was he moaning again?" Jack asked. Audrey nodded and they laughed again. That was one of their topics. Very little went on besides traveling. They would get up in the morning, eat, pick up camp, travel, set up camp, and eat again. Cookie, the cook, made the same slop every meal. Nobody really knew what was in it, and nobody wanted too. Better to not know what he deep fried.

Audrey sombered up again. "The guys were talking at camp last night. We aren't sure if we have enough supplies to keep all of these people fed. If we don't find something soon, we will have to start decreasing the population." Jack wasn't surprised. It made sense, cut out the injured and sick. He was worried though. He was one of those injured. Audrey said she wouldn't let them do that to him, but if it came down to it, Rourke would kill him. The man would do whatever it took to get the job done.

"Well I just need to heal faster." Jack joked. She smiled, but her brown eyes were full of concern.

She reached into her tool pack and pulled out a package. "Here." She said, handing it to him. Jack looked at her questioningly.

"Christmas came early it seems." Audrey laughed. He unwrapped the cloth parcel, revealing a makeshift peg leg made from scrap metal parts. His eyes open wide, surprised. She smiled at him.

"Well? Try it on!" Audrey was one of the few people who wasn't weirded out by the amputation. She was a tougher breed than them. Jack lifted his sling and made a face. "Oh yeah. You're helpless." She climbed in and started strapping it on. Jack looked at her. She was cute. Not exactly bring her to bed cute, but more of a little sister cute. They flirted often, but it was all for fun. He knew he was a handsome fellow, and women were often lured in by that. Audrey wasn't like that. She just seemed to like him, which was different than he was used to.

She fastened the last strap. Jack shook it to make sure it was tight. Satisfied, with Audrey's help, he got off of the wagon. His legs were a bit wobbly. He stabilized himself on her shoulder. Her head was barely up to his chest, but she was strong, holding him up easily. The ground wasn't lit very well so he had to be careful. It felt good to get out and stretch. Loose stones littered the ground of the ancient highway they were following. Along the walls of the cave were paintings. They depicted many of the things from the Shepherd's Journal. Many of them were of some sort of flying fish that people could ride. Jack figured that the artists were on drugs or something.

The leg was working very well. Somehow she made it so it had a spring on the bottom, allowing it to cushion onto the ground. For the first time in five years he was able to walk normal, or at least close to it. He laughed in amazement. Audrey smiled up at him. He took her hat and put it on.

"Give it back Dawes!" She said as she reached up to take it back. He let her have it, but after a few moments of struggle. However good she was as a mechanic, she was still just a kid. She needed it as much as he did.

"Audrey! There's a problem." Sweet shouted. The line stopped suddenly. A loud explosion broke through the silence. Cursing loudly in spanish, Audrey left Jack and jogged up to where the noise came from. Smoke filled the cave. _That can't be good._ Jack thought, stating the obvious. He decided to go up and see what was happening.

He heard honking and and yelling coming from driller. That's also where the smoke was coming from. The drill was halfway into a wall, stuck. Audrey was loudly muttering and digging around it the engine compartment.

"What is the problem?" Jack asked. She crawled back out, her face covered in soot.

"I don't understand it. I just tuned it up this morning." She walked off, talking under her breath. Jack took a look at it. It was similar to the boiler back at the museum. He'd seen Milo fix it a hundred times. He reached for the knobs and released the pressure. It made a loud croaking sound as the air was released. It sputtered loudly and Jack gave it a smack with a wrench. It roared back to life with a puff of smoke.

"She lives!" Mole shouted from up in the cockpit. The little frenchman was often a topic of he and Audrey's conversations. She had told him Mole's life story, which was too gross to recall. Jack heard him laugh as the driller cut back into the rock. The noise was awful, screeching like fingernails on a chalkboard. It gave him a headache. He started to make his way back to the back.

"How'd you do that?!" Audrey demanded. She had a piece of equipment in her arms, which she dropped. She put her hands on her hips and leaned to her right. Her face was pouty, like a jealous little sibling. Jack smiled at her.

"A magician never reveals his secrets." He said mysteriously. She scoffed jokingly and went to put the part back in the designated wagon. Jack resumed his walk. Before he'd gotten a few steps, he was stopped again.

"Hey. You are Milo's friend right?" Helga asked, grabbing healthy his arm. Jack felt a emotional stab as his thoughts of Milo returned.

" **Was** his friend." He corrected, emphasizing the word. She didn't seem to notice. Her beautiful face was contorted with displeasure. She couldn't seem to stand being around him. He didn't understand why. He often caught her glancing at him when Sweet would take him out to stretch and check his injuries.

"Whatever. You are the only person here that knows anything about the book." Jack read into the hint.

"You think I know something about where to go, don't you." She grimaced and nodded. Jack smiled at her. He was important. They needed him. Luckily for them, he had read the book once or twice with Milo. He had a memory like a steel trap, which had helped him do well in school. He hadn't mentioned his knowledge because he wanted them to crawl to him, asking for his help. This was that moment. It gave him great pleasure to see the mighty bow to him.

"I may know something." Jack said. She waited for him to say more, but he didn't. He wanted them to beg for it. His smile was almost menacing. She scowled at him, which only added to his happy mood.

"Fine. Follow me." Helga said curtly as she led him back toward the front. Jack had always had a problem with authority, and this was no different. Rourke was almost exactly the same as his abusive foster father. Jack had often stood up to him, which would get him beaten. It was ingrained in his head to disobey. That was just who he was.

The caravan stopped while the Mole did his thing. The noise wasn't as bad now. He would still hear the occasional laughter. _Guy really loves his job._ They stopped at the head truck where Rourke sat. Jack felt the hairs on his neck prick up.

"Jack. I need you to tell me everything you know about that book." Jack looked at him sideways. Rourke ignored the hint and continued on. _Not even a please._ "We aren't going to be able to survive if we don't find something soon. Most of our food was in the pods that didn't make it."

"You're lost." Jack said bluntly. Rourke sighed and got out of the truck.

"We're lost. All of us. Without Milo to guide us, we won't ever find our way out of these caves." Jack pursed his lips in thought. He remembered a few important things from the reading.

"We need to find the glowing ceiling thing. It is supposed to be along this highway." Jack pointed ahead to where the hole was being drilled. The highway passed directly through the rock. It was probably an avalanche that covered it in stone. "Once we get through here, keep an eye out for the wall paintings of the crystal. Those pictures are all along the road we want." He was paraphrasing of course, but that was mostly what the book said.

"Looks like you just got promoted." Rourke said sourly. He didn't like giving him the credit, but Jack was the only one who could help them. "You will be here in the front to help navigate." Jack nodded.

"I'll go and get my stuff." Jack left them behind and Audrey caught up to him.

"What was that about?" She inquired.

"They are lost and need my help to find the way." Jack said pridefully. He was finally useful again.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello. Thanks for reading! It is really cool to see people are looking at this. Hope you enjoy. God Bless.**

Jack sighed as he plopped onto his bed. It wasn't really a bed, it was just a pile of blankets and a pillow, but it was better than most of the other people had. It had been another long day. Navigating through the caves wasn't as easy as he had hoped. Ever since his head injury, Jack had trouble remembering things. At first, it was just little things, like random people's names, but it had gotten worse, to the point where he would forget details about the Shepherd's Journal. That was the only reason he was getting special treatment. The entire group's lives depended on his ability to find his way through the caves, and the stress of that was starting to get to him. He was grumpy and curt with people; even more so than usual. Even Audrey was wary of him if he was in a mood.

It had been three days since he took over the position as guide. In those three days, he'd led them down two dead ends, into a nest of weird giant centipedes, and nearly off a cliff. But in his defense, he had gotten them to the glowing thing. It was supposed to be close to the entrance to Atlantis. But that also was a problem. Jack couldn't remember anything that came after that. He wasn't going to admit it to anyone, but he was lost now. _Maybe we'll get lucky and find it by accident._ He thought hopefully. He scoffed at himself. _Yeah right._

Jack had finally gotten to know the rest of the crew, at least a little bit. There was the demolition expert named Vinny. There was Mole, the digger. He didn't really talk to Jack, and he was okay with that. Packard was a grumpy old lady who reminded him a lot of one of his favorite foster parents from his childhood. She was very sarcastic and didn't seem to care much for anything. He liked her. He already knew Dr. Sweet and Audrey. And lastly was Cookie. The man a crazy old coot, always saying the strangest things about his time in the west fighting Indians and such. Jack didn't really care for him or his cooking. But the man didn't seem to takes hints. He just plodded around like everyone loved him.

Although he now knew them, he didn't really want to hang out with them. He ate by himself at supper, slept away from the group at night, and rode up in front all alone. Audrey came and talked to him sometimes, but his moodiness drove her off. He didn't mean to do it, it just sort of happened. He was too proud to apologize, so he got used to being lonely. He missed Milo a lot. Even when he had no one, he had Milo. They had been thick as thieves. Now all he had of his friend were memories, and now those were starting to fade. He would get headaches and lightheaded if he tried to think to hard. It was frustrating, being even more disabled than before. It didn't help that Rourke rode him like a horse about finding the path. Every time he came up to Jack's truck, he would demand to know exactly where they were supposed to go. Jack did his best to translate it from memory, but even his brilliant mind couldn't recall all of the details. It was annoying, having him check in on him all the time.

It seemed that Jack wasn't the only one who was moody. Helga was especially bitchy. It was probably because of Rourke. It was a known fact that they were fuck-buddies. From what Jack had heard, it was a one sided relationship. Once Rourke had had his fun, he'd send her out. Jack could see why she would be upset by that. But every night, she came back. He figured that they had some sort of contract or something like that. He'd heard of those kind of things. Every time she saw Jack, she would give him this angry glare. It didn't make sense; he'd hardly said anything to her. He had to admit though, it was kind of hot, having her be mad at him. That was besides the point. The point was that her moodiness, along with his own, seemed to be making the company down in the dumps. There wasn't any laughter around the fires and everyone went to bed early.

None of that bothered Jack. He was getting used to it. He did miss talking to Audrey, but he wasn't about to apologize. Instead, he focused on his task of saving everyone from dying. He recalled something about some sort of wall painting that was pointing to the gates of Atlantis, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Every time he felt like he was getting close, it would slip away. If he saw it, he'd know, but that wasn't good enough for Rourke. He wanted a map and Jack couldn't give him one. He decided that he would go and look around after everyone went to sleep. He didn't want people to think he wasn't in total control of the situation.

He waited an hour or so after the cooking fires were put out before gathering a few supplies and sneaking out of his tent. He was toward the edge, so it wasn't difficult. The ground was relatively level on the old highway so he could move quicker without too much fear of tripping. Once he was a fair distance, he turned on his flashlight. The walls were covered in carvings and paintings. They all had this similar blue color in them. They varied from pictures of boats and fishing nets to flying fortresses shaped like whales and everything inbetween. The walls went up nearly fifty feet, and every inch was covered. _How did they get up there?_ He wondered as he walked along the wall.

The weird nest type thing let out an eerie greenish-yellow light. It kept the cavern decently lit. There was a skinny rock bridge that connected two sides of a huge ravine. From what he could gather from the writing and images, they would have to cross it. It wasn't going to be easy. It was barely wide enough to fit the driller, and it didn't look like it could handle very much weight. Jack decided that he would go over to the other side and see what he could find.

The walk was almost a half mile. He was sweating heavily by the time he reached the end. It was abnormally hot. It seemed that the heat was coming from the mystery lightsource. It didn't make sense. Very little made sense down there. Once safely off the bridge, Jack made his way along the edge. The paintings stopped suddenly. It looked like they had been erased or covered up. He looked at it quizzingly. _What is this about?_ He wondered. He made his way along the erased pictures. The big cavern broke into dozens of smaller caves, each one heading in a different direction. They all looked the same, except for one smaller tunnel. This one had no paintings on it either. The other ones continued the same as all the caves had before then. This one was different. It peaked his interest.

The light was dimmer in there, so he had to use his flashlight. Oddly, the track looked traveled. It didn't look like the caves that the giant centipedes used, it looked like a hunter's trail. He and Milo used to track animals out in the woods for fun. He'd gotten pretty good at it, where Milo had always been terrible. The rock on the floor was smooth, like it was walked on by barefeet. It was kind of slick, likely from oils on the foot. _But that doesn't make any sense._ He sat down for a moment to rest. Rubbing his finger on the ground, he thought. _Could there be people down here?_ It didn't seem logical, but he couldn't come up with a better theory. Being careful not to use his bad arm, he got back up and continued in.

As he walked, his flashlight started to flicker. Cursing, he hit it on his thigh a few times. It blinked and turned off. _Fuck me._ Jack started to panick. Nobody knew he was out there. If he followed the wall back, he might find his way back through the darkness, but there were other tunnels that branched off of that one. He could just as easily get more lost. He huddled on the ground while he tried to come up with a plan. _I have enough food and water to last maybe a day or two._ He had originally brought it along as a snack, but now it might be his lifeline. He figured that he'd been walking for a half an hour when the light went out. That meant about forty-five minutes or so from the light.

Suddenly, he noticed a pair of glowing blue orbs. _What the hell?!_ His heart started pounding. He pulled out his pocketknife. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. The balls moved toward him, revealing that it was a face. The creature's mouth gave off the same blue glow. He could see a little white hair on the outside of it now. His breath came out in pants. _What are they?!_ He wondered terrified. Two other faces appeared out of the dark. _Three of them!_ Jack started backing away slowly. They didn't seem to know he was there. He crept as quietly as he could, but his peg leg made a slight clang with every step. He winced at every single one.

He felt against the side, keeping his hand on it at all times. The cave seemed to be opening to the right. He turned around it slowly, losing eye contact with the creatures. He continued backing up. After a few minutes of tense silence, it seemed safe enough to relax. He let out a deep breath. Just as he did that, one of the creatures jumped around the corner, letting out a deep growl.

"Oh fuck!" Jack screamed as he jumped backward. The ground below him disappeared. He was on the edge of a cliff! He fell backwards, plunging into the darkness. The eyes simply watch as he plummeted. Time slowed, much like it had on the sub when Milo died. It felt like he was falling in slow motion. _I am going to die!_ The thought shattered his brain as he screamed. He was going to die.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello! Welcome back. This chapter is when things really take a twist, so prepare yourself! :) Hope you enjoy reading! Thank you and God Bless.**

Jack's arms flailed wildly, trying to find something to grab in the darkness. He could feel the cool air flying past his face. It felt like a dream, falling in the dark, but he knew it wasn't. He could still feel the pain in his arm, which wouldn't happen in a dream. For what seemed like several minutes, Jack fell. _At least it will be painless._ He thought. It wasn't.

Instead of splatting onto a flat surface, he ended up sliding down a rock face. He felt his skin burning off as he tumbled down. He bounced off of the rocks, tumbling head over foot. His breath was knocked out of him. With each hit, the pain grew. He hurt everywhere. Suddenly, it all stopped.

Surprisingly, he didn't feel any pain. Opening his eyes, he saw the same blue glow that the creatures that had driven him had for eyes.. It was a crystal of some sort, maybe six inches in diameter. It was sticking out of his chest. _Oh fuck!_ He was cold. He didn't feel any pain in his body because he couldn't feel any of it. His head was propped up against a stone, forcing him to stare at the rock sticking through his chest. For a few seconds, he looked at it stunned. The glowing spike was covered in blood, giving it a purplish glow. Blood was pouring from him like a bucket with a hole. _Just die already!_ He thought in despair. The rock seemed to have stopped his chest from bleeding out.

The blueish-purple light shone with a constant glow, never wavering. Jack's eyes looked at it dully. He was so cold. He'd always thought he would die in some shootout with the police or something dramatic like that, not pinned down like a beetle in some old lady's bug collection. He struggled to breathe. Blood rushed through his throat instead of air. His lungs were filling with blood. He was drowning in his own blood. After a lifetime, he finally lost consciousness and passed on.

Jack gasped and sat up. He looked down at his chest and saw that he wasn't impaled. _It was a dream!_ He thought, relief filling him. Obviously! He wasn't dead! He looked at his surroundings. He was lying on some rocks and the light was dim. _Must've sleep walked._ He thought. He'd never sleepwalked before, but there was always a first time for everything. He looked around for the camp; he couldn't have walked too far. He saw no sign of it. Actually, he saw no sign of anything familiar. _Where am I?!_ Confused, he pushed himself up to get a better look around.

"Wait a minute. How did I just do that?!" Jack yelped. He had just pushed himself up with his broken arm, which apparently was no longer broken. He grabbed it with his other hand and shook it. He got dizzy and leaned back against the stone wall. _I must be dreaming._ He might have believed that if he didn't feel so lucid. In fact, it was the most lucid he'd been in days. His head didn't hurt at all. Other than the brief dizzy spell, his mind was completely fine.

"Okay. This is the weirdest high I have ever had." He mumbled to himself. Something else was different. He took a few steps forward, looked down and gasped. On the ground lay his peg leg. In it's place below his knee was his leg. His real leg. He took a few more steps. It was still there. He laughed hysterically. His leg was back! It didn't make any sense, but he didn't care. He jumped up in the air. He laughed again. Maybe he was going crazy or something. _I don't even give a shit! I have my mother fucking leg back!_ He took the shoe off of the fake leg and placed it on his own foot

Jack stopped jumping to look at the at the small light source. It came from a blue crystal, about six inches in diameter, that stuck up out of the ground. He approached it. It was covered in dried blood. _Okay. What?!_ He started to hyperventilate, _Am I dead? Is that it? I thought I'd be a heaven guy. This doesn't feel like heaven…_ Somehow, the small amount of light seemed to be ten times brighter than it was. He reached out and touched it. It was real.

He sat down next to it. The surrounding stones were also coated in dried blood. He looked up and saw an incline. It was the one he'd fallen down. _Is this real or not?_ He wondered yet again. It all seemed so real, the crystal, the rocks, everything. He tried to come up with a logical explanation, but came up empty.

"Well, even if you are dead," he said to himself, "pretend you aren't and find your way back to the others." He nodded and started to climb up the rocks. He was amazed by how easy it was. Not only because he had his leg and arm back, he also felt stronger than before. He might've been able to climb the rocks when he was younger and athletic, but never that easily. He practically flew up them, barely even breathing hard. He reached the top of the pile and looked back down. He was probably two stories up in less than a minute. He smiled and went back to the task of climbing out.

There was a ledge above him, barely out of reach. He jumped up to grab it. He yelped in surprise as he not only reached it with his hands, he landed on his feet. _That was like a six foot vertical jump!_ His body pulsed with adrenaline. The spot where he'd fallen was now only a few more feet away. Jack took a running start at the cliff face and tried to run up it. He made it up easily, pulling himself up on top of it effortlessly. He took one last glance down at the blue crystal before rushing off into the caves.

The cave wasn't pitch dark like it had been before. Now, he could see about as well as he could if he had small candle. It wasn't daylight by any means, but it wasn't dark either. He would've found it odd before, but combined with everything else that was happening, it was nothing. He took off through the caves, jogging carefully. He still couldn't see that well. In his haste, he ran into the rock walls several times. The collisions hardly even slowed him down. He followed the smell that came through the caves. It didn't seem possible, but Jack could've sworn that he was smelling Cookie's slop. It had a smell that one did not simply forget.

After a while and a few wrong turns, he emerged into the cavern. He looked up at the light source. He realized he could see it far better than before. Now he could see that it was a carving, some sort of Atlantean creation. He started walking across the long bridge back to camp. All was quiet. Everyone was still asleep. Well almost everyone. As he snuck back to his tent, he saw Helga sneaking out of Rourke's tent wearing only a white tank top and jeans. Her usual uniform was missing. _That little whore just can't keep it in her pants._ He laughed inwardly at that. The campfires were down to coals, but he could make out her face clearly. Oddly enough, she was crying. Her usual tough, badass attitude was gone. Also, she had a black eye on her left one.

He followed her, being careful not to wake anyone else. He could hear her sniffling softly as she wound her way back to her own tent. _What the hell are you doing?!_ He asked himself. Unable to come up with a good answer, Jack ignored himself and continued to follow her. Instead of going to her tent, she left the camp completely. Now Jack was genuinely curious. She stopped once she was out of sight of the camp. It was darker over there, but still Jack could see clearly. _She doesn't seem to see me._ He used that to his advantage as he snuck closer.

"You alright?" Jack asked from the shadows. Helga jumped, interrupting her crying.

"What the hell are you doing here? Get back to camp!" She tried to order, but her voice cracked mid sentence. It turned into a sob. Jack stood there awkwardly. _What am I supposed to do now?_ He figured the best thing was to just leave her alone. He muttered an apology and headed back to the tents. _I wouldn't know what to say anyway._

"Wait. I'm sorry. Please don't go." She pleaded. Jack turned around, confused. Helga hated him, or at least that's the idea he'd gotten from all of the harsh words and hard looks. Now she wanted him to stay?

"Uh. Okay." He shuffled back over to where she sat on the cobblestone ground of the old highway. He stood several feet away with his hands in his pockets. Suddenly, Helga half sobbed half laughed at his awkwardness. _Maybe she is drunk?_

"Do you hate me?" She asked. Jack stood silently, the question took a few seconds to register..

"No. I figured since you hate _me_ , I should avoid you."

"Would you believe that I only do that for show?" Yup. She's drunk.

"To be honest, no I wouldn't." She laughed softly at that .

"I can't say I don't blame you. Rourke doesn't like you. He doesn't want me to like you either." She said his name with a slight twist of her mouth, like it tasted bad.

"What does that have to do with you being a bitch?" Jack asked bluntly. She sighed.

"I have to pretend because he is jealous of you." He scoffed at that, but her eyes held no humor in them. The pools of blue were serious. He never realized how truly beautiful her eyes were. He walked closer and sat down a few feet away from her.

"Why would he be jealous of me?" Jack asked.

"Because I want you and not him." She said. Jack was having difficulty believing her. It was probably some sort of trick to get him in trouble. He knew Rourke didn't like him, that much was obvious, but jealous? There was no way the great Commander Rourke was jealous of an injured cripple. Well, formerly injured cripple. _He will be jealous soon, once he sees what happened to me. And Helga wanting me? Ha._ He hopped up and walked over to her.

"You've had your cry. Here." Jack said as he offered her his hand, "I'll help you back to your tent." She held out her arm and he pulled her up. He was surprised by how easy it was. It fact, he pulled her up so fast that she bumped right into his chest. In her low cut tank top, he couldn't help but look down. The soft green light was just enough to shine off of her skin. He took a deep breath, shuddering slightly. He hadn't been with a girl since the accident. He only looked for a moment before he got a hold of himself. _You can't just stare at girls boobs, Jack!_ Helga had a slight smile. _God it's been so long._

They remained in that awkward hug for a moment or two, gazing at each other. He felt goosebumps on his neck. _Get a hold of yourself man!_ He thought, mentally slapping himself in the face. _Just be the old you._ Without another thought, he leaned in and kissed her. Her lips were as soft as they looked. Suddenly, he got a rush of energy. Not one you got from kissing a girl, more like one you get when you almost die in a car crash adrenaline rush. It pulsed through him, shooting all the way from his head to his toes. He opened his eyes wide. It wasn't like anything he'd ever felt before.

As they parted lips, he looked at her. She too looked frazzled. Not in a bad way, though. Ignoring his earlier advice, he took another look at her chest. She was nipping out of her shirt, the way a girl does when she was horny as fuck. He smiled at her and she beamed back at him.

"Well that was something." They both laughed and kissed again. Their tongues fought one another as it escalated into a makeout session. The rush he'd had before happened yet again. This time however, when he opened his eyes, everything was twice as bright as it had been before. He felt like he could run for days and still be able to lift a truck. This wasn't your average adrenaline rush, this was an advanced adrenaline rush!

Panting slightly, they put their foreheads together. He had to lean down to do it since she was almost a foot shorter. He looked into her eyes and noticed something odd. Her black eye was gone, healed completely. It hardly even fazed him now, but he knew she would be surprised. _Better to keep whatever is happening to me to myself, at least until I know more._ She probably didn't know she had had the black eye anyway.

"We should get back." Helga said, still trying to catch her breath. It seemed he was still as good a kisser as he had been before. Jack nodded, trying not to let her see how out of breath he was himself.

"Shhh!" Jack hushed suddenly. He heard rustling back at the camp. It seemed his hearing was improved as well. _How about that?_ Whoever it was was muttering. He couldn't tell what he was saying, but it was definitely one of the soldiers. If he saw them together, it would take more than boosted senses to same his ass.

"Somebody is up. We can't be seen together." Helga looked puzzled at first, but then a flashlight turned on and she nodded.

"Rourke can't find out or we are both in deep shit." She agreed. They got low to the ground and rushed back toward the campsite. The entire time, Jack kept thinking about that rush he'd felt. The feeling of power was wearing off now. He longed to feel it again. It was addicting. As they split to go back to their own tents, Helga glanced back at him. She grinned at him and he mirrored her. Jack crawled into his tent and lay back. He was still thinking about that power. _Shit! My leg and arm!_ He hadn't even thought about how to hide it. He found a pair of pants in his pack and put them instead of his shorts. That would cover his leg, but his sling was missing, probably still laying besides that crystal, but Sweet could get him another. He relaxed, knowing he now had a plan. _This will be fun._ He thought, taking off his shoes. It felt so good to move his own leg. Slowly, he drifted off.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello. Thanks for taking the time to read this. God Bless.**

 _Jack strode through the streets of Atlantis, being careful not to run into anyone. The plaza was always busy on Market Day. Traders from across the empire would load up their flying cars and head toward the capital. It was supposed to be a time of celebration of the harvest, but this year was different. It was normally a festival of magnificent spectacles and happy faces, but instead people looked wary and scared. The rebels had been making threats of attacking the city. They didn't like the way the people worshiped the Crystal for some stupid reason. They wanted people to worship their leader, and would kill anyone who wouldn't. What kind of religion kills the people who don't convert?! Many people had fled to the city. It was filled to the brim and ready to pop._

 _The Crystal continued it's usual rotation up in the sky, as if nothing was different, but Jack knew that it was. King Kashekim had been secretly testing a new weapon, one that could wipe out the rebels once and for all. If they showed any sign of violence today, they would regret it. Jack had been the leading scientist on the project. He'd found a way to tap into the Crystal's power to create an explosion of great magnitude. It hadn't been tested fully, but the King wanted it ready right away. Hopefully they would never have to use it._

 _The King, Queen, and Princess were all walking through the stalls, smiling and laughing. They were obviously trying to calm the people. It worked fairly well. A few people started playing music and dancing. Princess Kidagakash was off playing with her doll. Jack smiled at her and she smiled back. She ran over to him and hugged him. The little girl was barely up to his waist. Her white hair matched her mother's perfectly. Her bright blue eyes glowed with excitement. She had a wild spirit and was always driving her parents crazy. The only person she would calm down for was Jack, for whatever reason. They often dropped her off at his lab if they were sick of her. Having no family of his own, he quite enjoyed their visits._

" _Hey there." Jack said fondly, rubbing her hair. She squealed and pulled away. She always hated when he did that, but she still laughed. He was like a fun uncle to her. She spent more time with him than she did with her father. He was preoccupied with the war that was going on. Kida would always ask Jack why her father was like that, and he'd just tell her that he was busy being King. She believed it for now, but he knew she would learn it eventually. He always wanted a son, but instead got her._

 _Suddenly, a huge flash of light came from south of the city, off in the direction of the rebel base. Jack shielded his eyes. He worked to figure out what had just happened. It dawned on him, filling him with dread. Kashekim had detonated the bomb. Jack crossed his fingers, his calculations were correct. As long as they didn't try to make the explosion too big, everyone else should be fine. When the sound wave finally reached them, it nearly knocked him off his feet. Kida went running to her mother. The Crystal started to spin, which meant something bad was about to happen. Jack felt a feeling of despair. Kashekim had ignored his warnings and dropped all of the explosives. It was enough to wipe out an entire city. He fell to his knees and let out a howl of anguish as a wall of water several miles high sped toward the walls._

Jack darted awake, his pulse racing. _What the fuck was that?!_ He wondered incredulously. That was the most vivid dream he'd ever had; it was almost like a memory. He remembered every feeling, every emotion. It was a memory, but it wasn't his, or was it a dream? He scratched his head and lay back down. It didn't make sense. He tried to go back to sleep, but the scared faces plagued his thoughts. Shoving his face into his pillow, he struggled to free his mind from the dream. It all seemed so real. He couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't a dream, though. He was there when Atlantis fell into the ocean.

The smell of smoke brought him back to reality. He sniffed the air. It wasn't a campfire. It smelled like gasoline. Suddenly, a memory came flooding back to him. The firebugs! How he knew what they were, he didn't know. What he did know was that they all needed to get out of there. He grabbed his pack and rushed out of the tent. The flames were all around him. The screams of the ones who hadn't gotten out in time grated against his eardrums. It was disorientating. He struggled to focus on the task of not dying, again. The flames hadn't gotten to the bridge yet. Everyone else was rushing into the vehicles and heading for the bridge.

Shielding himself from the heat with his bag, Jack wound his way to the rest of the group. With his newfound speed and agility, it was easy. But even with the new abilities, he couldn't escape unscathed. A flare of fire shot up and scorched his arm. He groaned at the pain and kept going. He ran past several burning victims, all of them pleading for his help. He ignored them. He was more important than they were. A barrel of fuel exploded, knocking him over. He tasted dirt as he face planted into the ground. He scrambled to his feet and kept running.

Coughing heavily, Jack made it out of the burning camp. There were less than fifty people on the bridge, meaning almost as many were burnt alive. He shuttered at the thought, but that was all the thought he gave them. He saw Audrey and the rest of the group rushing across. He took off after them, gaining on them easily. _Wait. You're crippled._ He told himself. He slowed down to a hobble, not slow enough to be left behind, but not fast enough to be unbelievable. One of the trucks in the back of the group was swarmed by the insects, igniting it within seconds. The driver screamed and jumped out the door. He too was in flames. Suddenly, the truck exploded, throwing Jack backwards. His ears rang and his face felt singed. The smell of burnt hair mixed in with the flesh and gasoline.

The explosion had been forceful enough to knock the nest loose. It fell down right behind him. The narrow bridge shook violently. _Uh oh._ With a loud crack, the base cracked and they all started sliding backwards. Jack tried to crawl forwards, but to no avail. Tires screeched as the trucks tried to make it to the other side. With one final jolt, it collapsed. He stared into the darkness as he fell.

Jack sat up and coughed as he breathed in the ash and dust. He could see the others trying to get the trucks out of the ash. Most of the vehicles seemed to be alright. Landing in all the ash must have been cushion enough. He got up and check himself for injuries. Finding none, he hobbled over to the others.

"Alright. Who's not dead? Sound off." It was Rourke. Jack had hoped he died in the fire, but unfortunately, he still lived. He heard the other core members moaning, which was a relief, they were the only people who would be able to help get him back to the surface. Because of his newfound sight, he could see all of their faces with just the light from the match Rourke was holding. Cookie was moaning about some venom in his ass. Audrey was already checking on the vehicles. Everybody else were turning on spotlights so they could see. Everyone except Helga. In fact, he couldn't see her anywhere.

"Hey has anybody seen Helga?" Vinny asked. Everyone shrugged and looked at one another. Rourke interrupted them.

"We need to get moving. She'll catch up. Right now we need to get onto some solid ground, get our bearings." Rourke seemed completely unfazed by her absence. Reluctantly, they returned to their duties. Mole said they were in the bottom of a volcano and nobody wanted to wait around in the middle of that. Jack was disgusted at Rourke's lack of concern. _I mean he did fuck her a lot. There have to be some feelings there. Right?_ He had trouble convincing himself that Rourke could feel anything at all.

While what remained of the convoy made their way to a lava tube, Jack turned around to look for Helga. They wouldn't notice his absence. She had been with the group when the bridge fell, so she couldn't be too far from them. His enhanced eyes scanned around in the large vent, looking for any sign of her. He looked for several minutes before he heard her moaning. It was soft and weak, and the noise of the trucks made it difficult to hear, but he followed it as best he could.

He saw her propped up against a rock with a large gash on her forehead. Jack started toward her quickly. Out of the shadows, one of the creatures from before crawled over to her. Jack yelled at it, waving his arms, but it ignored him. He could see now that the "creature" was a person in a mask, a female judging by the figure. He couldn't make out much more than that because she was hidden in the shadows. She reached out and placed her hand on Helga's forehead. A blue light shined from her. When she removed it, the gash was gone. When Jack finally got there, she was gone.

"Helga, are you alright?" Jack asked as he knelt down to her. She still wasn't conscious, but groaning had stopped. He looked around for the strange woman, but saw no sign of her. Jack checked Helga's forehead and found that it was fine. _She might know what's happening to me. She healed Helga like I healed._ Whoever this woman was, she had to know something.

Picking her up carefully, Jack took one last look around for any sign of the mystery woman. For a moment, he thought he saw those blue eyes in the darkness, but he wasn't sure. He needed to get Helga back to the others. She was either really light or he was really strong, because he wasn't even slightly winded after hauling her half a mile to where the others had gone. She started to wake as they entered the convoy.

"What? What happened?" She asked groggily. He set her down in the back of a truck. She seemed dizzy and confused, but not injured. He yelled for Sweet before turning back to her.

"You hit your head." Jack said. She rubbed her temples and moaned.

"Yeah that sounds about right." She chuckled slightly, which quickly turned into another groan. He heard Sweet's heavy footsteps on the ground as he jogged over.

"What is it?" He asked, his deep voice resonated in the tunnel. Jack nodded toward Helga, who had her head in her hands. Sweet hopped up into the back and put on his stethoscope. "We found her!" Sweet shouted to the others. As he attended to her, Jack took the opportunity to slink away in order to think about the dream he'd had in peace. It seemed so real. Even now, he could still recall the details perfectly. He'd had vivid dreams before, but nothing came even close to that. The people's names had faded, but not their faces. The white hair of the mystery woman was remarkably similar to that of the little girl from his dream.

Jack sat down on a nearby rock as the convoy continued its slow march. He couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't a dream. He could still smell the flowers by the florist stand, he could still hear the festive music playing, and most strongly, he could still feel the fear. That feeling of dread lingered inside him like splinter stuck under his skin. He shuddered. It reminded him of how he felt when Milo died. But why was he remembering things that didn't happen to him? It didn't make sense. _Does anything make sense anymore?_ He sat there, looking at his shaking hands. _What is happening to me?_


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello again. The first R rated bit is coming up so be prepared. Hope you enjoy. Thank you and God Bless.**

After several hours of traveling, the group of explorers finally stopped to rest. They all looked ragged from the rough day. Nobody had gotten a good night's sleep in over thirty-six hours and it showed. Most of the men didn't even set up tents. Everyone was dead tired. Everyone but Jack. He lay in his tent struggling to get comfortable. Every way he turned there was a rock sticking into his back, making his struggle pointless.

The sound of snoring and muttering also kept Jack from sleep. He could hear everything it seemed. He tried desperately to block it out, but he couldn't escape it. Smells of sweaty men and women penetrated his nose, leaving a bad taste in his mouth. His senses were working in overdrive. He had to get away from them all.

Jack got up and walked away from the group. Nobody was awake, so he didn't bother pretending about his leg or arm. It was a relief to finally relax from his act. His shoulder ached from the sling Sweet had given him, and his hips were burning from the limp. Once he was a fair distance away, he started jogging. The air blew past his face as he ran through the tunnel. It was invigorating. All of his aches and pains were fading away. He laughed and started sprinting. The sound of the air shooting past his head was nearly deafening. He weaved his way with the agility of a lion, never missing a step or tripping. _I'm finally getting the hang of this!_ Just as he thought that, he tripped and started tumbling. When he finally came to a stop, his forearms were scrapped deeply. Blood dripped down onto the ground.

"Son of a bitch!" Jack muttered angrily. His palms were also scrapped from trying to break his fall. Suddenly, a glowing blue liquid started oozing out instead of his blood. It was the same blue as the woman's mask and the crystal. It seemed to be a reoccurring theme. He watched in amazement as his wounds began to heal in front of his eyes. The liquid, which seemed to be his own blood, filled where the skin and flesh used to be. Instead of dripping, it stuck to him. The cuts started to disappear from the inside out. First the flesh and muscles came back and then the skin. In a matter of seconds, his hands and forearms were completely fine. _Well would you look at that._ He thought in amazement and excitement. With everything that had happened, he completely forgot about the burns he'd gotten before the fall. They too were healed, not even leaving scars.

Jack got up and brushed off his clothes. The grey tank top was stained from his blood. Oddly, it was red, not blue like when it healed. _Maybe it only changes color when it heals?_ He had no way of knowing if it were true or not, but it made him feel better to pretend to know. Suddenly, he heard muffled voices further into the cave. He turned abruptly in that direction. He strained to hear more, and to his surprise, he could. His other senses dulled, but his hearing improved immensely. He could no longer smell the stench of the camp or see clearly in the dim light. Instead, he could make out conversations.

"What are we going to do about the strangers?" A man's voice muttered.

"I say we capture them and keep them captive, at least until we know more." Another pitched in. From what he could hear, Jack figured there were maybe four men. If they thought they could capture a group of fifty or so, they had to be more of them somewhere.

"We will ambush them tomorrow, after we get the rest of the Guard." That voice one sounded like the leader. With that, the party started walking away. Jack followed them from a distance. He couldn't see their faces, but they had little blue lights so they could see. There were actually six men, and all of them armed to the teeth. They wove through the caves with precision that came with repetition. Whoever these people were, they knew the terrain well, which was bad news for the team. They could easily pick them off or trap them. _I need to find their camp. Then I can warn the others._ He didn't really care if the others got captured, but he wasn't about to be alone in the dark.

They eventually made it to a long narrow cave. It was man-made judging by the tool marks on the walls. At the far end of the cave, sunlight shone through the edges of a large boulder that marked the exit. Once they got up to it, they all pushed it to the side, causing the rock to roll away. The light was blinding. He covered his eyes in pain. When he could finally see again, they group was gone and the rock was closing.

Jack started to retrace his steps back to the others. So he'd remember the way, he cut his hand and rubbed his blood on the walls. It still amazed him how he could heal so quickly. He had to repeat the process each time he made a turn. It took him longer to find the way back than he had hoped. When he finally did, it was an hour later. He jogged back to the camp, but stopped a ways before to resume the cripple act. He needed to convince Rourke to turn the group around. _That should be easy._ He scoffed at his own naiveness.

Rourke had the biggest tent in the whole camp. _Probably trying to compensate for something._ Jack mused. He opened up the tent flap and opened his mouth. He stopped before he'd uttered a single sound, his eyes growing wide as he looked at the scene before him. Rourke had Helga pinned down on his cot, holding both of her arms above her head. She had a blank look on her beautiful face as Rourke thrust into her with force, causing her to whimper in pain. Her shirt lay on the floor next to the cot, along with the rest of her clothes. Rourke continued to pound into her, groaning like an animal. His back was to Jack, so he couldn't see him, but Helga could. Her eyes met his for a moment. Her blue eyes were teary as she continued to take the abuse, but she didn't say a word. He could tell she wanted him to leave, to protect him from Rourke's wrath. Anger burned in Jack's chest. He didn't always get along with other men, but he'd always been a gentlemen with women. That was how they should be treated. Not like fuck dolls. He started to walk towards them, but Helga held up her hand and shook her head. She mouthed "stop".

Jack looked on in agony for a moment. Her perfect breasts flopped up and down with each thrust. She started to cry slightly, prompting Rourke to stick his hand over her mouth and go even harder. Jack turned and left, unable to watch it any longer. Even as he walked away, he could still hear her muffled cries and Rourke's guttural grunts. _I am going to kill that fucker._ Jack thought, clenching his fists until they hurt. He couldn't get the sounds out of his head. Her soft crying resounded in his brain, fueling the anger even higher. Now quivering, Jack walked over to one of the trucks. He paced back and forth. In a fit of rage, he punched the side of the it. The whole vehicle slid several feet with a satisfying dent in the door. Jack looked at his still clenched fist. His entire hand was glowing dimly. Nothing was broken, in fact, his knuckles weren't even bloody. It was like his hand was protected from the blow like a boxing glove.

The clang was loud enough to arouse some of the nearby men. Weary eyes looked toward him. He stood there, fists clenched, as they all stared at him. The firelight was too dim for them to see it was him, so he darted away. For the next few hours, Jack lay in his tent, brooding. These powers made him something else, something more than human. Once he knew more about himself, nothing would stop him from breaking Rourke's neck. But he couldn't yet. He still needed him to keep the group going. They listened to him and admired him. Jack decided that he would let him live for a while longer.

 _What is wrong with you!?_ Jack asked himself. He'd never gotten in a fight before, let alone planned a murder! Whatever was happening to him seemed to not only enhance his senses and strength, it also enhanced his emotions. A little good became a lot good, and vice versa. He would have to be careful not to let his feelings dictate what he did.

The wake up call sounded, signaling the beginning of the day. Groans followed the bugle. Nobody wanted to get up and walk again. Jack got up and headed to Rourke's tent. It took three men to take down his tent, and of course he didn't help. He was off talking to the crew. Sweet's head stuck out above the rest of them. He spotted Jack and called him over. Jack frowned, but went anyways. He still needed to make them turn around. He walked into the middle of their conversation.

"I know our supplies are running low. If we don't find something soon, we will have to abort and get back to the surface." Rourke said. The group looked somber. They didn't want to go back empty handed. They were all very proud of their track record of discoveries and didn't want to soil it now. As Jack approached, they all looked at him. Audrey had a surprised look on her face. He looked at her, tilting his head slightly.

"Do I have something in my teeth?" He joked. She didn't smile. She made her way over to him and pulled his head down to her eye level.

"Your eyes are blue." Jack pulled away quickly. _Another side effect it seems._ He needed a lie.

"Yeah, I figured that might happen. Due to the lack of fresh air down here, the oxygen level is lower, which can cause lots of different things, such as eye color change, skin rashes, etcetera." He was proud of how quickly he'd come up with it. They all thought he was a scientist like Milo, which worked to his advantage. He didn't have any college education, but he was brilliant and read lots of books. Over time, he accumulated enough knowledge to be a convincing liar. They bought it, and some of them even started checking for rashes. Rourke coughed, bringing them all back to attention. He glared at Jack for a second before continuing.

"As I was saying, if we don't find what we are looking for soon we will have to turn back." Jack used the opportunity to both usurp his authority and get them to turn around.

"From what I gathered from the writing on the walls," he lied, "we need to turn back and go down a different tunnel. We are actually pretty close to our destination, so there will be no need to abandon the mission." They all started chattering excitedly. All but Rourke. His eyes burned below his bushy eyebrows. Jack smiled at him, which pissed him off even more. _Perfect._ His smugness was short lived. As the group split up to collect their belongings, Helga pulled him aside when Rourke left. She looked terrible, but she covered it up well.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked concernedly, holding her face in his hands. She nodded, tears starting to build up in her clear blue eyes.

"I'm alright." She managed. He pulled her close and hugged her. She sobbed softly into his shirt. They were behind a few tents, so nobody could see. He shushed her gently, setting his chin on her hair. They stood like that for a while. She pulled him in tighter, before quickly letting go. She sniffed and wiped her eyes. It didn't take her long to return to her tough alter ego. She smiled at him graciously. He nodded with a slight smile. In Jack's opinion, every woman should be treated that way. They didn't say another word. They didn't need to. He knew that she was grateful for what he'd done, and that was all he needed.

They left in different directions, staggered as to not raise any suspicions. When he got back to his tent, he found it already packed up. Jack looked around and saw Sweet and Audrey waving at him. They had did it it seemed. He nodded his thanks and lifted the pack onto his back. Resuming his own charade, Jack limped along the convoy as it took off back where they'd come from. Seemingly unconcerned, Jack plodded along with them, but he never stopped looking around for any sign of the savages that planned to capture them. It was better not to worry the others until he was completely sure it was an issue.

It took the large group almost three hours to reach the exit tunnel. In order to fit the vehicles into the much smaller tube, Mole had to dig through the rock, which took an hour or so. The machine wasn't working as well, which made both Mole and Audrey furious. While they worked on that, Jack, Vinny, and Sweet sat together.

"My family owned a flower shop." Vinny told Jack, "We would sell roses, carnations, baby's breath, you name it. One day, I'm making about three dozen corsages for this prom, you know, the one they put on the wrist, and everybody, they come. "Where is it?", "When is it?", "Does it match my dress?" It's a nightmare." He slapped face with his hand to show his annoyance. Jack chuckled. "Anyway, I guess there was this leak next door of gas or what. BOOM! No more Chinese laundry. Blew me right through the front window. It was like a sign from God. I found myself that boom." Vinny finished his story by lighting the match in his mouth on fire with his thumb. Jack couldn't quite figure out why the two of them told him their life stories. _Maybe they want something from me?_ It never occurred to him that they were just making conversation.

"So what about you then? How'd you get to be here?" Sweet asked after a brief silence. Jack took a deep breath. Should he be honest or lie? It really made no difference what he did, but he couldn't bring himself to tell the truth.

"I was Milo's student at the museum. We worked on the Atlantean culture and language aspect of things. When Milo got recruited, he suggested that I come along too." The two seemed a little disappointed at how brief he was, but bought it nonetheless. They said how sorry they were that Milo passed, and looked genuine about it, but Jack knew deep down that they didn't give two fucks about how he felt.

"HOURRA!" Jack heard Mole shout from the digging site. He had to give the little frenchman credit, he sure could dig. Engines sputtered to life as they followed the drill into the new tunnel. He heard excited chatter as they saw the tiny bit of light at the end.

"I'm pretty sure a witch doctor told me not to do this." Cookie mumbled from his cart as they walked toward the light. For the first time in a long time, faces were smiling. Laughter replaced the usual groaning. Sweet came up from behind him and clasped his shoulder.

"You really out did yourself, Jack!" He said smiling. Jack looked back and him and grinned. It was nice to be appreciated for once. Several others came up and congratulated him on finding the exit. He didn't know any of them, but they all seemed to know of him. He shook hands, gave high fives, and even got his ass slapped by Audrey. Jack felt happy for the first time since Milo's death. Unfortunately, his moment of glory was ended by Rourke's untimely arrival. Jack growled under his breath as he approached.

"I've got to hand it to you Dawe, you finally did your job." He said sarcastically. Jack resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at him.

"Thank you." He said, gritting his teeth into a resemblance of a smile. Rourke stuck out his hand. Jack grabbed it and shook it with a challenging look in his eye. The large man didn't back down. He squeezed Jack's hand firmly, and then more firmly. _He wants to play that game huh?_ Jack thought maliciously. He started to squeeze harder himself. He heard the older man groan as he started to crush his hand. Then he let go, leaving him holding his hand in pain.

"See ya round." Jack said smugly as he turned away. He could feel Rourke's eyes burning into the back of his head, and he liked it. _Bring it on old man. Bring. It. On._ Blue lightning flashed across his eyes. He smiled.


	11. Chapter 11

**It has been some time since I've written, so hopefully it goes smoothly. League of Legends has been distracting me. Anyway, hope you enjoy. God Bless.**

Jack put his hand against the stone that blocked their path. Nearly fifty people waited to hear what he had to say. He took a deep breath.

"This is it. Through this boulder lies our fortunes. Let's get rich!" They all cheered. He stood there for a moment, basking in it. He smiled and moved away so the digger could get to it. Mole was almost salivating at the chance to dig their way out. He was very passionate about his work. Jack shook hands and gave high fives to people as he made his way back to the others. They too were smiling and joyous. Audrey jumped up and gave him a hug. Surprised, Jack nearly fell over.

"Thanks for getting us here. We couldn't've done it without you." She kissed him on the cheek before letting go. It was good to finally get the appreciation he deserved. Among all the happy faces, one stood out above the others. Helga's bright red lips were curved into a slight smile. Her eyes glowed with a newfound hope. Jack grinned and walked over to her, but not before checking to see if Rourke was around. He still didn't want to get her in trouble, well, more trouble.

"Hey." He said with a smirk. All of the other sounds dulled out as she spoke.

"Hey. You saved us, you know." Jack tilted his head slightly. "We were all ready to give up until you brought us here." He laughed and lifted her off the ground in a hug. He felt her heartbeat against his chest. All of his senses focused on her. She smelled like rose soap, her eyes were an ocean, he skin was silk against his arms. He could hear her breaths shuttering as they embraced. She was the only person around. Suddenly, he felt a power surge through him, much like before. This time, however, it all went to his head. It felt like all of the blood in his body was rushing toward his brain; and then there was blue flash.

 _Jack looked around in surprise. He fell down with a yelp. In front of him was him, holding Helga in his arms. The other him was completely still, not even breathing._ What the fuck is going on? Jack thought. _He started to panic. His hand passed right through himself when he tried to touch his shoulder. Jack's mind was having difficulty registering what was happening._ So I'm dead? Again? He wondered confused. _He sat down, eyes going slightly crossed as he struggled to comprehend. Just as he thought he'd figured out what was happening to him, something new jumps out and punches him in the balls._

 _After a few more moments or dumbfounded shock, he got on his feet and started to walk around. He waved his hands in front of the other still figures. None of them responded either. Everything looked like it was in a shadow world. The trucks seemed to be half solid half vapor. That was the only way he could explain it. It seemed like if he touched them, they would disappear in a puff of smoke. His breaths came out raggedly, but then he noticed something else odd. He couldn't hear his breathing, or feel it. In fact, he wasn't really breathing at all. It was another thing he couldn't explain. It seemed like a dream, because in a dream you don't think of breathing or swallowing spit. He was so confused._

 _Jack was in absolute silence. It was eerie, and scary._ Maybe it's just a bad dream. He tried to convince himself. _He closed his eyes and wished to be back in his body. When he opened his eyes, nothing had changed. His still wasn't in his body, and nobody was moving. Jack lay down and struggled not to cry._ WHAT AM I? _A sound pierced the quiet._

" _How are you here?" A man's voice asked curiously. It seemed to be coming from inside his own head. Jack put his hands on his head. The voice asked again. "How are you here?!" This time it was angry._

" _I don't know! I don't know where 'here' even is!" Jack shouted into the air. There was a brief pause._

" _Who are you?" It asked. It no longer seemed mad, but how could a person judge the emotions of a disembodied voice in their head._

" _Jack." He scoffed and then laughed hysterically. "I'm talking to myself aren't I? I have finally gone bat shit crazy."_

" _No. You are not crazy. You and I are bonded it seems. I was wondering why my power was being drained." It said that last part to itself. Jack was even more confused than he'd been before, which he hadn't thought was possible._

" _Who are you?" Jack asked aloud._

" _We will talk more later." Another energy pulse shot through him._

Helga laughed once more before he set her back down. She smiled up at him. Jack smiled back. _Wait, What!?_ He jerked back from her. The cave no longer seemed surreal. Reaching toward her face, he grabbed it in his hands. Helga had a strange look on her face, causing Jack to pull back embarrassed. _I'm me again._ The thought brought him some relief. But the question still lingered. Who had he been talking to, and how had he gotten out of his body? He shook his head.

"You okay?" Helga asked concerned. Jack got his shit together and nodded.

"Yeah, just got a headache." He walked away from the others and sat down in the cab of a nearby truck. He started shaking uncontrollably. He tightened them into fists to stop it. The others were looking at him concerned. He waved at them with a smile. It wasn't very convincing. Sweet took out his medicine bag and approached him.

"Here. Let me give you a quick check up." He said in his deep voice. Jack reluctantly submitted. _Please don't notice my leg. Please don't notice my leg._ In an effort to hide it, he pulled his leg into the truck so he couldn't see it.

"I'm telling you, I'm fine. It's just a headache." The doctor did a few more checkups before leaving him be. _Thank god._ He never did like doctors. Sweet was a swell fella, but he was still a doctor.

"Just rest a bit." With that he left, taking his big black bag with him. Jack set his head on the steering wheel and took a deep breath. How nobody had noticed he no longer had a peg leg, he couldn't say. _Maybe I'm just that good an actor._ It was a futile attempt to calm himself through bad humor. It didn't work at all. He still felt sick to his stomach. He had to know what was happening to him.

With a loud crash, Mole and the digger burst out of the cave. Light shone in through the gaping hole. Everyone held up hands over their eyes. Then the air blew in. Jack's head stopped aching as the smell of salt water, fresh plants, and goodness knows what else, penetrated his nose like a bullet. His eyes started to water from the rush. He gasped at the strength of it. Jack could hear everyone else doing the same. It seemed like forever since he'd last had a breath of fresh air.

"Come on, Jack!" Audrey yelled as she ran toward the light. The rest followed suit. Jack hustled right after. _Maybe the fresh air will help me think!_ Shading his eyes, he pushed through the bright halo. What he saw next truly took his breath away.

The first thing he noticed was the waterfalls. It was actually more like one waterfall that surrounded the entire plaza. Toward the middle of the plateau rested tall stone spires spanning hundreds of feet into the air. Surrounding the island were giant stone statues, even larger than the buildings. They seemed to be protecting the city on all sides, silent guardians. There was a large chasm in between them that the waterfalls poured into, linked together by a small wooden bridge. There were an assortment of birds and insects flying and buzzing all around them. Trees, shrubs, and vines stuck out of the crumbling buildings closest to the drop off. _There wasn't supposed to be anything alive down here._ He gaped in amazement.

The awe was short lived, however. After a few moments, a dozen or so men and women surrounded them from above. They wore war masks that resembled tikis, complete with glowing blue eyes and white fur. Everyone in the group backed together as they were surrounded. Rourke cursed and started to pull out his pistol. Jack quickly grabbed his arm to stop him. The last thing they needed was a bloodbath.

"Which one of you is the leader?" A female voice asked from behind her mask. After a few agonizing moments of silence, Jack took the lead and spoke.

"This man is the leader." Jack said gesturing to Rourke. The crew gasped as he spoke. _What the fuck guys?!_ He turned back to them and gave them a questioning look. Shaking his head slightly, he turned his attention back to the talking woman. "It seems that I will be speaking on his behalf." The woman removed her mask and handed her spear to the person next to her. She was a girl, as in young. She couldn't be more than eighteen at the most. She had clear blue eyes and white hair. The tattoo below her left eye looked familiar. A blue dot next to her nose and two crescents below the eye.

"I'm Jack by the way." She looked at him, then at the others, and then back at him again. She seemed confused.

"Why do your friends not speak?" She questioned. Jack was beginning to wonder that himself.

"Why aren't any of you pitching in?" He demanded, turning around. They all still looked slightly dumbfounded. "What is it?" Rourke got ahold of himself first.

"We don't speak Atlantean, dumbass." He muttered gruffly. Now Jack was the confused one.

"We are speaking English. Can't you understand it?" They all shook their heads. _Was I speaking Atlantean by accident?_ He turned back slowly to face the fierce woman.

"Do you want us to speak like you?" She asked. Everyone gasped again. Apparently they could understand her now. Jack nodded graciously. Rourke then stepped forward, pushing Jack to the side. _How was I speaking Atlantean?! Fuckity fuck fuck!_ He was getting sick and tired of being confused all the damn time.

"We are explorers from the surface world. We come in peace." Rourke said, smiling with his joyless eyes. The woman responded by smiling herself. She was quite pretty, in an exotic stripper sort of way. Her white teeth brightly contrasted her dark skin.

"Welcome, to the city of Atlantis!" She held her arms wide. The other Atlanteans took off their masks and set down their weapons. The two groups intermingled and started chattering. Jack did his best to avoid the swarming group, but to no avail. In a matter of seconds, he was surrounded by poking and prodding Atlanteans. They were pulling on his clothes and looking at his pack. He struggled to escape the mass, shoving his way out. The gaps filled in instantly with new curious men and women. Jack sighed with relief as he escaped.

"You." The woman who had spoken before said, pointing at him. "You must speak to my father now." She grabbed his arm and started pulling him across the rope bridge toward the city. Jack struggled not to look down as they walked over it. Despite his efforts, he did just that. The bottom of the cavern had to be at least two hundred feet. He gulped and continued onward, following the exotic woman. Even though they had been welcomed, she still held on to her spear.

"I didn't catch your name." Jack said, quickening his pace to catch up with her.

"That's because I didn't tell you." She stated matter of factly without looking back at him. Jack frowned. Women didn't just ignore him. He couldn't ignore her though. Her curves were clearly visible through her thin blue skirt. Her walk was a mixture of a model and a lion, with both beauty and prowess. It was an effort, but he managed to pull his eyes away from her ass and look at the city.

Calling it a city was a bit of an exaggeration. It was more of a ruin if anything. The buildings were all crumbling, kept together with clay and wooden braces. People stared at them through their makeshift huts and from behind store stalls. They all looked at the group with a similar expression of wonder and excitement. Small children had to be held back from running up to them by their parents. Groups of dark skinned natives gathered around to get a look at the strange visitors.

The further he went into Atlantis, the more strange Jack felt. It was like deja vu, but longer. It almost seemed like he'd been there before. The tall arches that acted like gates between the different streets sparked a strange feeling of pride in him for some reason, like a parent looking at their successful child. He shook his head violently to rid his brain of the sensation. _I've never been here before. How the fuck could I?_

The others seemed to be in shock from trying to take in everything. Audrey was off looking at a shopkeeper's goods with Sweet. Mole and Vinny were drinking something that smelled like alcohol. Helga walked next to the truck Rourke was in. She had a slight limp, her face contorting slightly in pain with each step. _Rourke did that! Mother fucker!_ Jack slowed down to end up next to her. She looked up at the truck and nodded toward the back. They slowed down until they were safely out of his view.

"What do you think of this place?" He asked with a smile. Her face brightened and she smiled back.

"It's amazing that there are people here." As she said that, her mood swung to solemn. That statement seemed to bring her down. _Why might that be?_ He decided it was better not to ask until they were alone. He grabbed her hand reassuringly. She squeezed tightly, her fingers interlocking with his for a moment before pulling away. Jack looked forward and saw Rourke's eyes burning into him from the rearview mirror. He'd seen the entire thing apparently. _Good. Just try something! I dare you._ Jack smiled broadly and winked. Rourke's chiseled face could've fried an egg it was so hot.

Leaving Helga, Jack wandered over to Audrey, who was trading a compass for a bracelet. She was beaming with excitement. She smiled at him and held her wrist up to him.

"What do you think?" She asked flirtatiously. Jack pretended to inspect it.

"I think you got ripped off bad. It's obviously fake. I'd try and get my money back!" She punched him in the arm with a giggle. He rubbed his arm with a chuckle. He'd barely even felt the blow, but he needed to keep that to himself. She began chatting with him, making comments about all the different things they came across. Jack did his best to listen and respond, but his heart wasn't really in it. She stopped and punched his shoulder again.

"Oww! What was that for?" He yelped. She pulled his head down closer to hers and whispered.

"I've seen how you look at Helga Sinclair. If I were you, I'd quit that real fast. Everyone who has been with the group before has said they have a thing. And Rourke isn't someone you want to piss off." Jack nodded, pretending to be concerned and grateful for her advice, but he really didn't give a shit about getting on Rourke's bad side. In fact, he really wanted to see it, up close, with his fist. He clenched his hands tightly in anger. He heard his knuckles pop and it sounded like light gunshots to his sensitive ears.

"Thanks for the advice Ramirez." He bent down and kissed her on the cheek. She ducked away quickly and laughed at him. She pretended like she didn't like it, but he knew she did. He smiled slightly as she bounded off to another stall. She was just a kid. Speaking of kids, several of them ran around him as he tried to make his way through. They poked and prodded him, spitting out questions faster than he could possibly hope to answer. They were little more than toddlers, but they were old enough to be a pain in the ass. Biting his cheek, he forced himself to ignore them. If he didn't, he would end up kicking one of them.

As the parade of visitors made their way down the broken cobblestone road, Jack couldn't shake the feeling that he knew the place. Everything seemed familiar, like he'd been there before. He told himself that there was no way it could be possible, but it didn't stop it. The further in they got, the stronger it felt. He started to recognize statues and buildings. One of these statues was of a king, holding a baby in the air. The craftsmanship was superb. There was an inscription on the bottom written in Atlantean.

 _In honor of the princess._

 _Karakian_

The name resounded in his skull, bouncing around wildly, flooding his mind with memories. In one, he held hands with the young princess as she laughed. In another, he held a broken crystal in his hand. There were many others, but the last one almost brought him to his knees. A giant wall of water, several miles in height, sped toward him as he sat on a bench. He felt fear, despair, and most oddly, guilt. He knew that thousands of people were about to die because of him. Jack screamed in his head as he pulled himself out of the flood of memories and emotions. He was back in the present now, and many people were looking at him strangely, both Atlanteans and the crew. He realized he'd been standing with his hand on the statue for over a minute. He quickly pocketed his hand and sped off into the flow of people.

 _What the hell was that about?_ _Am I losing my mind? Or have I already?_


	12. Chapter 12

**This is a longer chapter. I have been slowly writing it for quite some time now. Hopefully I will be able to finish it. Anyway, enjoy and God Bless.**

Chapter 12

Jack walked in the middle of the group, unaware of what was happening. His brain was fried yet again. Everywhere he looked, he saw familiar things that brought on new emotions and memories that weren't his. It seemed like a hundred years had passed when they finally got to throne room. He shook his head fiercely in an attempt to clear his head. He was supposed to talk to the king. As they approached the tall stone doors, Jack felt himself being pushed to the front.

"Alright you." Rourke said, pulling him off away from the others. Jack looked up at him challengingly. _Try something, I dare you!_ "I am doing the talking here, I don't care what that girl said. I am in charge." His stony eyes glared at him like a street cat about to get into a fight. Jack mirrored the look right back. With a huff, Rourke brushed past him and strode through the doors.

The throne room wasn't really a room. The domed roof had caved in and wild plants crept into it, making it look abandoned. _All my hard work, wasted…_ Jack thought bitterly. That wasn't his memory either. _What the hell is going on?_ An enormous statue of a head sat broken next to it's body. He was so preoccupied with his own thoughts, he didn't notice that he was walking directly toward one of the many pools that decorated the room. Luckily, Helga was paying attention. Right before his foot hit the water, she pulled Jack back.

"You need to watch where you are going." She whispered with a wink. Jack smirked at her, causing her to hit him. Rourke didn't seem to notice. The rest of the group were told to stay back, leaving just Rourke, Helga, and himself. Small stone slabs created a small path over the water to where the king lay. Instead of a throne, he sat on a pile of pillows and blankets. As the reached him, their guide dropped to a knee and bowed.

"Greetings your Highness. I have brought the visitors." She spoke to him with the kind of respect that one should give to their king. He, however, didn't talk back like she was a subject.

"You know the law Kida." His gravelly voice said with a hint of annoyance. "No outsiders may see the city and live." Jack's eyes narrowed at that. Were they going to try and kill them? _Good luck._

"Father," Kida's tone changed dramatically from before, "these people may be able to help us!" She seemed almost desperate, but the king's face remained stone. It seemed they had had this conversation, or something similar to it, before.

"We not need their help!" The old man's face had a bit of anger in it now.

"But father…" She began, but he interrupted her.

"That is enough. We will discuss this later." The king said firmly. Reluctantly, Kida stood up. Rourke took that to be his turn to talk. He stepped forward and made a large bow. The king looked at him questioningly beneath his bushy white eyebrows.

"Your majesty, on behalf of my crew, may I say it is an honor to be welcomed to your city." Suddenly, Jack remembered that Rourke and Helga couldn't understand them. _The idiot is going to get us all killed. Or at least themselves killed._ Jack took a good look at the king for the first time. His bald head was covered in tattoos, much like the ones that were on the people in the market. He had long white hair and a beard, but none on top of his head. Overall, the king looked sick.

"You presume much, to think you are welcome here." Rourke was undeterred.

"Sir," he began, using his bullshit kindly voice, "we have come a long way looking for…"

"I know what you seek, and you will not find it here." The king interrupted. Rourke's eyes looked at him questioningly. Jack noticed his neck muscles tensed up slightly. _He is hiding something._ "Your journey has been in vain."

"But we are peaceful explorers, men of science." Rourke pretended to plead, making large gestures with his hands. The king chuckled humorlessly.

"And yet you bring weapons." He pointed to Rourke's pistol strapped to his hip.

"Our weapons allow us to remove, obstacles we may encounter." The way the commander said obstacles had a threatening hint to it. It was clearly a threat. The king was unafraid.

"Some obstacles, cannot be removed with a mere show of force." He was calling Rourke's bluff. Jack admired the old man's spirit. Something about the man was familiar, but he pushed it down, keeping the memories at bay. The king grabbed his staff and stood up. "Return to your people. You must leave Atlantis at once!"

"Your majesty, be reasonable…" Jack couldn't take it any longer. He brushed Rourke aside and addressed the king.

"We just need a little time to rest and recover. My friends are tired and need a night or two of good sleep." The king's brow furrowed at the outburst, but gave way reluctantly.

"Very well. One night. But in the morning you will be gone." Rourke stepped back in front Jack angrily.

"Thank you, your majesty." He turned at walked back the way they came. He gave Jack an angry glare as he passed. Helga followed him, but Jack didn't leave right away. Kida looked at him with a disappointed look on her face. Something about the two of them wouldn't leave him alone. Shaking his head slightly, he turned and followed the two. The doors banged loudly as the guards shut it behind them.

"What the hell was that?" Rourke growled, grabbing Jack by the shirt and pulling him in close. He could've smelt the alcohol on his breath without his enhanced senses. Rourke's eyes were bloodshot, either from rage or from drinking, Jack couldn't tell which. He thought about pushing him off, but he didn't want that attention.

"The King was talking about killing us. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd rather not die anytime soon." The rest of the group started muttering to one another. Rourke let his shirt go hesitantly. Smoothing his shirt calmly, Jack turned from the tall man and began to walk away. Before he got very far, Vinny grabbed his arm.

"You don't think they would actually try and kill us, right?" His Italian accent made it hard to tell what he was feeling. He didn't seem scared. In fact, none of them seemed scared. If anything, they looked somber, like they were about to kill a bunch of kittens.

"They still might, but his daughter doesn't want them to." They gasped loudly. _Right. They didn't know she was the princess. Fuck._ Rourke, who had heard that last bit, hastily walked up to him.

"Our guide is the princess?" He demanded. Jack fought the urge to punch him in the nose.

"Did I stutter?" Jack replied sarcastically. Rourke looked like he was having the same urges he was.

"Alright then. Everyone, move out. We are going back to the bridge. We are allowed to stay and resupply, but don't get comfortable.?" Rourke barked orders to everyone and led the way back. There were about twenty other men and women from the convoy with them, so sneaking away was easy. Jack used the commotion to pull Helga away. Holding her hand, he led her out of the crowd and into an alley. It was overgrown with plants and the buildings on either side were starting to crumble. They continued to run until they were in an open glade. _This used to be a park. I used to take Kida here on our evening walks._ Jack angrily forced the memory back. They weren't his. They couldn't be.

"We shouldn't be here, Jack." Helga said worriedly. He could feel her pulse racing through her hand. He turned to her and put both his hands on hers. Her blue eyes were pools of fear and despair. Jack knew it was because of what Rourke was doing to her.

"I can protect you. I will." He whispered. She turned her head to look back, but he put his palm to her cheek and gently turned it back. "You don't need to face this alone." Her eyes began to well up with tears.

"I am just so scared." A tear ran down her face, trailing down her strong cheekbones. Jack's own pulse began to race as she lay her head into his hand and sobbed. He used his thumb to wipe away her tears and lifted her chin to look up at him.

"You don't have to be." He smiled at her, feeling his own eyes beginning to sting. _Oh god, now I'm crying. Fuck me!_ She half sobbed half laughed at him. Jack leaned down at put his lips on hers. All the breath in his lungs seemed to be sucked out. Everything else seemed to dull. He couldn't smell the plants or hear birds singing. All he could do was feel her lips on his own. The kiss began to increase in intensity. Their tongues found their way into each other's mouths. He put his other hand on her waist and pulled her closer. Her chest now pressed against his own. He could feel goosebumps popping up his spine. Breathing deeply through his nose, Jack pulled gently away. She stood there, eyes still closed, her breaths coming out in short pants. She opened them slowly and looked into his eyes. The fear that had been there before was gone, replaced by hope.

"Hi." She said, still in a daze. Her cheeks began to turn red as she realized what she had said. Jack laughed at her. She tried to be angry at him. "Stop laughing. That wasn't funny!" Jack held his hands up in surrender, but he couldn't help snickering. "I'm warning you…" She threatened, but started laughing herself.

"Hi yourself." Jack said with a chuckle. He gave her a half smile and kissed her again. This one wasn't as long, but it was just as invigorating. He felt an energy pulse through him. It was similar to the one that had happened in the caves, but this time it was even stronger. His eyes opened wide and he gasped.

He was still in the glade, but Helga was gone. Instead of crumbling buildings, tall spires surrounded the park. The grass was freshly cut, and the stone fountain was shooting water several feet into the air. There were children splashing in the water. A bright light shone down on the entire city, but it wasn't from the sun. Shielding his eyes, Jack tried to look at it.

" _You again!"_ The mysterious voice from back in the tunnel exclaimed in Jack's head. " _You shouldn't be here."_ Jack looked around in confusion, looking for where the voice might have come from.

"Who are you?!" Jack shouted into the air. A bright light shone behind him suddenly. He tried to look at it, but it was as bright as the light in the sky. All he could tell was that it looked like a human figure.

" _I am Life. I am Power. I am God."_ The sound was now coming from the being, not in his head.

"What have you done to me?" Jack demanded, still shielding his eyes.

" _I've done nothing. You're the one who attached yourself to me!"_ The voice sounded angry now, or even offended.

"I didn't do anything!" Jack exclaimed. The voice was silent for a moment.

" _We will talk again soon."_ The light increased in brightness until Jack couldn't see anything. When he could finally open them, he was in the same spot, except everything was broken and old again. His brain felt like it had been turned to mashed potatoes. Helga was looking at him concerned.

"What happened to you in the tunnels?" She asked gently. Jack sighed and sat down on the ground. She knelt down, holding his head in her hands. "You can tell me."

"I think I died." Jack said dully. She scoffed and started to leave. He grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Look if you don't want to tell me that's fine." Her words said that, but her face didn't. She was clearly hurt by the rejection.

"Let me show you." Jack stood up. _She was going to find out eventually anyway…_ "Do you have a knife with you?" She nodded and handed him a large pocketknife. He opened it and tested the blade for sharpness. "Don't be scared." Helga looked at him questioningly. Without hesitation, Jack slit his wrist vertically. He sliced the vein several inches, letting the blood flow out. Helga yelped and tried to grab his arm and the knife at the same time.

"What are you doing?!" She cried out.

"Look." The blood stopped gushing out. It then started flowing back into his vein, and within a few seconds, it was completely healed. A blue energy pulse shot up his arm as the wound closed. Helga's mouth hung open, her mind still struggling to wrap around what just happened.

"You… the cut… what?!" She sputtered hysterically. She continued to ramble about how impossible it was for a moment or two before he put his hand over her mouth.

"Something happened to me in the tunnels. I don't know what exactly, but it gave me these, powers." He pulled his pant leg up to show his flesh leg. The whole thing seemed to be too much for her to handle. Her face turned pale and she started to lose balance. Jack jumped quickly to catch her.

"I think I need to lay down." She muttered as she went unconscious. _Fuck. Probably could've done that better_. He set her down against a tree trunk. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps brought him to his feet. The weight of the steps was likely a woman or child. Whoever it was didn't want to be heard or seen. Anybody else might not have noticed, but Jack could clearly tell where the person was coming from. He turned around abruptly.

"Who is there?" He demanded into the trees. After a moment, the princess, Kida, strode out from underneath the foliage.

"You have keen hearing outsider." She seemed upset that he was able to hear her sneak up on him.

"Why are you spying on me?" He demanded calmly. He knew that the girl couldn't do anything to hurt him, but she could get Helga in trouble, so he wasn't taking any chances.

"I've come here to ask you for your help." Jack raised an eyebrow. "You need to come with me." She motioned for him to follow her, but he didn't budge.

"I'm not here to help you. Now beat it." She seemed stunned at first, but then became angry.

"Do not speak to me like I am a child!" She hissed. They were within a few feet of each other as she approached him. He could smell an exotic perfume on her neck that turned him on instantly. She almost seemed to be pouting. It was extremely sexy. Jack struggled not to look at the rest of her body.

"Look, Kida is it? I need to get Helga back to my camp without people seeing us. I'll help you if you show me a way to do that." She pondered for a moment before agreeing.

"There is a path that goes behind the buildings. It leads to your camp by the bridge." She gestured to a small crevice. Jack picked Helga up in his arms and carried her along the path back to the others. The journey was only a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity. His guide's hips had a hypnotic sway when she walked. Her ass was big, but toned, and it jiggled slightly. It wasn't that she was hotter than Helga, but she was different, strange. It made him lust that much more.

"We are here." Jack suddenly became aware that he was staring at her blankly, still holding Helga's limp body. He jumped forward and worked his way into the camp. It wasn't like the camps from before. This camp was a military fort, complete with armed watchmen and patrols. Luckily, Jack was fast. Very fast. In the dimming light, he dashed from one shadowed tent to another. Eventually he found his comrades part of the camp. Cookie was stirring his infamous goop in a black cauldron. Packard was smoking a cigarette and doing a word search. The rest of the group was missing, likely taking in the sights of the city. He was able to set her in her tent without being spotted. He left her a note saying that she wasn't to speak of what she saw to anyone.

It was much easier to get back out without carrying a limp person in his arms. Kida looked impressed with how agile and quick he was.

"Are you ready?" She asked. He nodded and motioned for her to lead the way. She took off trotting. Following her would have been hard for a regular person, but it was childsplay for him. She scrambled up crumbling walls and up trees like she had been born in them. Her feet barely made a sound as they climbed along rooftops. They approached two giant pillars that were covered in vines and plants.

"I want to show you something." She panted slightly with a broad smile. She was clearly enjoying herself. Jack found himself mimicking her emotion too. _Come on man. She isn't some school girl for you to win over!_ He berated himself. But the smile stayed. He really did enjoy looking at her.

"Where exactly are you taking me?" He asked. She didn't respond. Instead she jumped up onto the pillar and started climbing up the vines. She was like a cat, moving effortlessly. Jack decided to test his abilities a bit more. Bending his knees, Jack focused his energy into his legs. A blue lightning shot down from his chest into his legs. He jumped as hard as he could. He flew about fifteen feet into the air. He let out a loud whoop as he grabbed onto a ledge. The energy seemed to flow from his chest. He started climbing. It didn't seem like he was moving super fast, but he soon passed Kida and continued up the edifice. Within a minute, he reached the top. The ground was two hundred feet down. Kida gasped for breath when she finally caught up. Sweat glistened on her skin. Her long white hair was wet with perspiration..

"How do you move so fast?" She panted. Jack smirked to himself, basking in his own glory.

"Me? Fast? Naw, you're just slow!" He teased. She put her hand on her hip and stuck a disapproving pose, much like a mother with her bratty child. It was extremely sexy. Jack groaned weakly. "Ah, so you wanted to show me what exactly? Kida gestured to the city. He looked down at it for the first time. From the vantage point, he could see the destruction even better. Almost all the buildings on the edge of the waterfall were completely ruined. The only things still standing were the statues. Giant stone sentries guarding Atlantis from disaster. He realized he was standing on one of them. A pulse of energy shot through him and his eyes widened in shock.

" _Your Majesty, the guardians are finally all finished." Jack said proudly. The king barely seemed to hear him._

" _Yes, yes good." He dismissed him curtly. The king was preoccupied with a piece of paper. Jack couldn't help but be curious._

" _What's that?" He asked, walking up to the throne. Nobody else could talk to the king like that, but Jack had a special relationship with him. He was the head scientist for the king's secret arsenal. It wasn't a job he wanted, but the king was the king. He'd already designed and built a fleet of warships and weapons, but it never seemed to be enough._

" _This is what I want you to make." He handed Jack the piece of paper. He grabbed it and looked at it closely._

" _You want to tap into the crystal?!" Jack asked incredulously. The king raised an eyebrow at him, and he quickly bowed down. "Of course your highness, I'll begin right away."_

Jack's mind came back to the present in a flash, nearly making him fall over in a daze. Luckily, Kida grabbed his arm, pulling him back to the head and away from the edge.

"What was that about?" She asked. Jack shook his head to rid it of the memory. They were getting stronger, more real. _I have to find out what the fuck is wrong with me._ Jack shrugged.

"I was wondering if you would catch me. You must really like me." He smiled and winked. She blushed brightly and looked away.

"Any way," she said clearing her voice, "the city is falling apart and I think you can help. There is a place with a large mural with writing all around it. I want you to look at it." Jack was confused.

"Why me? Can't you just read it?" She shook her head sadly.

"No one can. That was lost after the great flood." Jack remembered the dream he'd had with the huge wall of water and shivered. It had been real!

"I guess I could take a look. No promises though." She smiled big. For a moment he thought she was going to hug him. _Oh god please don't, or do. FUCK!_ She didn't hug him. Instead she started to climb down, motioning him to follow. Jack wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed. He followed her at a slow pace. It took them several minutes to get to the bottom. By that time it was starting to get dark out. The sky began to turn greenish with the light of thousands of firebugs. The same creatures that burned down their camp in the caves were being caught and put into jars to make lanterns.

Kida grabbed his hand excitedly and led him into the increasing darkness. He could see perfectly, but he wasn't going to say anything. It felt, right, being with the girl. Her hands were rough and calloused, but something about that turned him on. _The woman knows how to work hard…_ he thought dreamily. He mentally slapped himself again. He had to stop thinking with his dick. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling.

"Are you hungry? Let's get some food." She told him without waiting for his answer, still pulling him. He laughed and allowed himself to be drug along. For the first time since Milo died, Jack felt happy. Not just happy to be alive or have a foot, but actually happy. Jack could smell the food and it made his stomach growl. He hadn't eaten since breakfast. Before long, he could see the house where the smell was coming from.

Audrey and the rest of the group were sat around a low table, all of them eating rapidly. Apparently Cookie's cooking couldn't compare to the Atlantean cuisine. Dr. Sweet was showing everyone how to eat some weird shrimp-like creatures. They barely noticed when Jack and Kida sat down. Within seconds of sitting, food was shoved in front of him by smiling Atlantean faces. They seemed to be as excited as Kida was to have guests. It was strange, that everyone except the king seemed to want them to be there.

"Jack! You have to try this." Audrey said giddily. She got up and rushed over to him, holding a bowl of a potato looking substance. "Where have you been? It's been three hours. You missed the tattoo guy. And they have this awesome game where you kick a ball over a bar. Oh and the docks! The water is so clear it's amazing…" She continued to ramble. Jack tuned it out. As much as he liked the girl, she could be really annoying.

"That sounds fun!" Jack said with false enthusiasm. She didn't notice his sarcasm and continued to ramble. He looked around the table. All of the team was there except for Rourke and Helga. Jack began to worry about her. _Did Rourke find out about us? If he hurt her again I'm going to fucking kill him!_

Jack barely tasted the food he put into his mouth. All his thoughts dwelt upon Helga, wondering if she was okay. He couldn't just get up and leave without drawing attention. It felt like an eternity, waiting for the meal to end so he could leave. When they finally broke to head off to bed, Jack dashed out before anyone could catch him. He ran in the twilight, dodging carts and people with ease. His eyes made navigating in the dark childsplay. Air sped past his face as he raced back to the camp. He didn't know how fast he was going, but he was out of the city in less than ten minutes. He was barely breathing heavy when he got to the camp.

The guards were still stationed around the campsite. The two guarding the main entrance let him in, but gave him hard looks. Even though he saved their lives by getting them to Atlantis, many of the soldiers didn't like him, simply because Rourke didn't. The old bastard did have lots of followers. The camp stunk of campfires and sweaty men. His eyes stung from sensory overload. If he didn't focus, he could sometimes lose control of his enhanced senses, causing him to smell or hear everything. It was too much to handle. Jack stopped and leaned against a tent pole to gather himself. Suddenly, he could smell Helga. He rushed on, following the scent of her flowery soap. As he got closer, he also smelled Rourke. He struggled not to clench his teeth.

He ended up at the base tent. Nobody slept there, instead it worked as a headquarters for planning. Jack walked briskly into it. Inside, he saw Rourke and Helga, along with half a dozen armed soldiers.

"Ah Jack, I was hoping you would show up." Rourke said with a mirthless smile. Helga sat at the table, keeping her head down. Jack could smell alcohol on Rourke's breath. He fought the urge to punch his teeth down his smug throat.

"What do you want?" Jack almost growled.

"I just wanted to talk. I have a business proposition for you." Jack looked at him through squinted eyes.

"I don't want anything to do with you or your business." Jack said. Rourke smirked and chuckled to himself.

"I figured you'd say something like that." He motioned to his men and they cocked their guns. Jack took a half step backward. He didn't know if he could take on that many guns at once, even with his powers.

"What the fuck do you want?!" Jack did growl this time. Every hair on his body was on edge. Energy was pulsing through his veins with each heartbeat. If Rourke wanted a fight he would get one!

"I know about your, condition." Rourke said, holding up the piece of paper Jack had left with Helga. _Fuck me, I did this._ He looked at her more carefully. Her face was badly bruised, and her left eye was swollen shut. She still didn't look at him, but she now sobbed softly. _This is all my fault. I should have left her out of it._

"I haven't the foggiest idea what you mean." Jack said sarcastically. Rourke ignored him and continued.

"I could use a man with your, gifts. What do you say? How about you work for me?" Rourke stepped forward with his hand held out. Jack tried not to spit at it. He knew if he did, Helga was as good as dead.

"Fine." Jack almost threw up. He hated giving in to Rourke's demands, but he cared enough about Helga to do it.

"Good man!" Rourke let out a rich laugh, and was joined by his henchmen. _I swear to God I will end you._ Jack promised. Helga slunk away while they were laughing, but he could still hear her crying. How could such a strong woman be broken down by one man? It was disgusting. A soldier strode in, flapping the tent flaps open.

"Sir. An Atlantean is here. She wants to speak with him." He said, gesturing to Jack.

"Hmmm…" Rourke said, stroking his broad chin thoughtfully. "Mr. Dawe I believe I have a use for you." He walked over to Jack. He no longer had his hand on his pistol, but Jack never let his guard down. The energy inside him was almost bursting out. It was like struggling against a strong current.

"I'm listening…" Jack muttered.

"See I'm looking for this crystal power source." He pulled out a piece of paper from his pants pocket. It was from the Shepherd's Journal. "This is worth quite a bit to my employers and I'd like to get my hands on it ASAP, but I haven't the foggiest idea where to start looking."

"You want me to beat it out of the girl?" Jack asked. Rourke chuckled and shrugged.

"You seem to have a way with women. I'm sure you'll figure something out." Rourke seemed to think that was enough and gestured him away. Jack turned and left, leaving the sound of Helga's crying behind him. _I will fix this. I'll fucking kill him._

Kida was waiting on the outskirts of the campsite. She smiled when she saw Jack, waving at him to come over.

"Jack! I want to show you something!" She said excitedly. She grabbed Jack's arm and tried to pull him along. He didn't budge. He wasn't in the mood.

"Yeah? Well I want a toilet made of gold, but we don't always get what we want!" Jack said rudely. She didn't seem to get the message. She continued to tug on his arm, acting very much like a teenage girl. Then he remembered what Rourke said about finding the crystal. _Maybe she can help me save Helga._ He didn't want to bring the girl into it, but he didn't see any other way.

"I must show you something! Please come with me!" Her brown eyes looked up at him pleadingly. Jack struggled not to look down at her breasts. _God I am fucking disturbed._ Even in his current mood, he smiled at her. She was very cute. And he never could say no to a beautiful woman.

"Okay fine!" Jack gave in. She laughed and pulled him away from the camp and back toward the city. Jack could hear Rourke's men gearing up to follow them. _What is he up to?_ Grabbing his arm, she tugged him along. Even with the beautiful girl's company, Jack couldn't stop worrying about Helga.


	13. Chapter 13

**I am dedicating this chapter to Mary, who forced me to continue writing. Thanks bb! I needed the motivation.**

Jack followed Kida briskly, jogging slightly to keep up with her. She wouldn't tell him where they were going. He struggled to shake the feelings of familiarity with the area. Each broken down building brought old memories to light. Somehow he knew that he helped design the formally amazing structures. Every once in awhile he would see a semi-transparent ghost image of the past. It was very confusing. He couldn't always tell what was real or fake. He barely noticed when Kida stopped, almost running her over.

"We are here." Kida said, walking over to the water and dipping her toe into it. Jack took a moment to admire her body. Her smooth dark skin glistened slightly in the lantern light made by the flickering firebugs. Her white hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

"So what exactly are we doing here?" Jack asked. The girl looked back at him mischievously.

"How good do you swim?" Jack furrowed his brow in confusion.

"I guess I'm pretty good at it. Why?" She grinned broadly. Suddenly, she pulled off her skirt, leaving her with only a bikini amount of coverage. Jack couldn't help but grin back. Her stomach was toned, matching her thighs and butt. She wasn't ashamed of her body one bit, and Jack admired that. The crystal around her neck rested neatly between her breasts.

"You are the first person I have met that can still read Atlantean. Down there…" she gestured downward at the water, "is a painting with writing all round the pictures. I was wondering if you would take a look at it for me." She seemed surprised when Jack back away from the water quickly. "What is the matter?" Jack took a deep breath and pressed himself against the nearby rock face.

"Oh it's nothing… I'm just not a huge fan of deep water." He had begun being afraid of deep water when he was very little. It was just something about not knowing what could be lurking below. He shivered and Kida laughed.

"I'll protect you from the scary fish. How about that?" She winked and dove into the water.

"I swear to God if I get attacked by a leviathan I'm going to kill her." Jack muttered, pulling his shirt off. He ran his hands down his stomach and felt his abs. His entire body was in tip top condition, like he had been working out non stop for months. He hadn't really had time to look at himself since before the journey began. Walking over to the water's edge, he looked down at his reflection.

" _Why won't you just leave me alone?!"_ His reflection shouted at him. Jack yelped and jumped back. Cautiously he peeked at the water again. It wasn't his reflection in the water at all. It was an older man, with Atlantean tattoos and a long white beard.

"Who are you!?" Jack demanded back. The reflection pulled itself out of the water and stood in front of him. He looked like the ghostly images of the buildings around him.

" _I'm Karakian. Who are you and why won't you just let me be?"_ Jack recognized the name from the statue he'd seen earlier in the courtyard.

"I'm Jack, and I'm not the one who is bothering you. You are! Why am I remembering things that I couldn't possibly remember?" The old man pondered for a moment.

" _Well, Jack is it? We need to have a chat._ " Jack looked at him blankly, waiting for him to continue.

"And that means…?"

" _Not here. Not now."_ The old man disappeared in a ripple of the water. _Well at least something is happening…_ He walked over to the water and looked down at it, this time seeing his own face. He barely recognized himself with his bright blue eyes. He knelt down onto the cool rock and touched the water. It was warmer than he thought it would be. Kida burst back to the surface and swung her hair back. Jack stood back up.

"Well are you coming or…" She started as she wiped off her eyes. She trailed off when she saw him without his shirt on. Her eyes were glued to him as she struggled to finish the sentence.

"Hey, my eyes are up here." Jack said with a smirk. Kida looked down ashamed, but then back up flirtatiously. "Watch out!" He jumped up as high as he could and flipped. Air blew through his hair as he soared in the air. With a huge splash, he finished with a canon ball. She laughed in excitement.

"You ready?" Kida asked. Jack looked under the water to see how deep it was. He couldn't see the bottom.

"Are you sure there aren't any creatures down there?" She splashed him in the face with water. He spit it out at her and she grinned. With a deep breath she dove beneath the surface and into the dark water. Soon, all he could see was the light from her crystal.

"Fuck me." Jack muttered. He dove down and followed her. Before long, he caught up to her. She was swimming hard, but Jack easily swam next to her. He teased her with how easily he could beat her. After a minute or so, she took off for the surface. He didn't see any fish that could possibly eat him, but he still flew up as fast as he could.

They were swimming in the ruins of the city that was lost to the ocean. The buildings were all but unrecognizable. There was almost nothing left. Kida shined her light at him and pointed upward. There was an air pocket in one of the domed roofs. Jack got there first and took in a deep breath. It was amazing how easily he had made the swim. Kida was a second behind him. Her breaths were ragged as she panted.

"The picture is just around this house." She said in between breaths. Jack waited for her to catch her breath patiently. He wasn't the kind of person who would show off just to feel good about himself. To impress a girl, hell yeah, but he had already done that.

"What exactly am I supposed to read?" He asked.

"Anything. So much of our history has been lost. Anything at all would be useful." She seemed sad when she said that. She had just been a little girl when the whole world changed.

"After you mylady." He said, gesturing her to lead the way. They dove down and out through a broken down doorway. The light would barely have been enough for him before the change.

The picture wasn't a picture at all. It was a mural the size of a football field, plastered onto the side of an enormous wall. He thought it would just be a little picture he could look at, but this was too much. Jack looked around dazed, not knowing where to start. Suddenly, an energy pulse shot from his chest into the picture of the crystal in the center of the painting.

Jack's eyes widened as information flowed into him. Memories from thousands of long dead people became his own. It was overwhelming. His thoughts were lost in hundreds of other people's thoughts. He couldn't separate them.

" _Jack! Follow my voice!" He recognized it as Karakain's voice. He struggled to swim through the river of memories to the source of the sound. A hand reached toward him and pulled him out of the barrage._

When he finally regained control of his mind, Jack saw that the old man was floating in the water next to him. Kida wasn't moving. In fact, nothing was moving. Time was frozen, just like it had before. Karakain was floating around like a specter, passing through the water and stone alike. Jack turned to see his body floating in the water.

"What is going on?" Jack asked. The old man was looking at the picture sadly.

"We were such a mighty people. So powerful, but so foolish." Jack, for lack of a better word, floated next to him. The pictures seemed to be moving just outside the corners of his vision.

"What happened? I thought Atlantis fell into the ocean or something."

"I suppose in a sense we did, although saying the ocean fell over us would be more accurate. There was a civil war. The rebels wanted the crystal to be the ruler of the empire, a holy being. The King wasn't too happy about that, so he came up with a solution to end their rebellion. I was his top scientist in charge of studying the crystal and finding ways to utilize its power. This was when I discovered it was a conscious being." Jack was stunned.

"So, it's alive? Like a person?" Karakain tilted his head and shrugged.

"Alive? Yes. Like a person? No. It has the most in common with a parasite, but instead of living off blood and flesh, it survives by draining life energy." He motioned over the painting. "The people are its source of food. Our empire was so large, it didn't need to drain any one person enough to cause them to even notice it. It grew fat and lazy, which is why it didn't stop me when I first started tapping into it. I discovered that I could take the energy from a crystal and convert it into other forms of energy, like heat or kinetic. I created weapons that could level cities, kill millions of lives, and even reshape the earth itself."

"What does this have to do with what's happening to me?" Jack asked. Karakain glided along the wall and pointed to another picture. It looked like a man of some sort, but made out of pure crystal.

"I found that there were places that the Crystal stored energy, like a squirrel hiding nuts. From it, I could draw massive amounts of it, more than any of our smaller crystals could handle. The crystals we used to hold it during transport would sometimes become volatile and explode." His eyes grew sad again. "Some of the workers who were moving the crystals would die from these bombs. Other times, they would, change."

"They became like me?" Jack asked, looking at and clenching his fists.

"No. They were more powerful, and more unpredictable. Many of these, creatures, were once my associates, but after they were exposed to the pure energy, they began to change. Their skin turned into stone and they lost their minds. Their bodies sucked energy from everything around them. They were violent and very hard to kill. I tried to halt all research until I could find a cure, but the King wouldn't allow it. He wanted to make them into super soldiers to use against the rebels. He would purposely mutate people and send them to rebel outposts. They were all but unstoppable."

"So what makes me different?"

"I have no idea." It was a chilling answer. Jack scoffed in anger and fear.

"You have no idea? You were creating these things yourself! You are the only person in the whole fucking world who could know about it and you have no idea? Did you ever stop and think about what you were doing?!" Karakain flew in front of him and grabbed him by the shirt. His eyes were pure energy, and his face was contorted in rage.

"Do you think I wanted this? You think I wanted to create these weapons? I followed the orders of my king. I warned him time and time again, but he never listened. He forced me to make a bomb that would wipe out the rebel capital. I purposely tried to make it less powerful, but I didn't know enough about what the power could do. The explosion didn't stop at the end of the city. The blast radius went for miles outside the city. When it reached the ocean, it created a wall of water, hundreds of feet high, that destroyed everything in its path. Millions of innocent people died because of what I made." He let go of Jack and turned away, tears beginning to well up.

"How did Kida and the rest of the people live?" Karakain sniffed and rubbed his eyes, which turned back to their normal brown color.

"The Crystal's power was spread thinly when this happened. It didn't have time to draw its reserves to make a shield to protect the city, so it took the queen. Royal blood has enormous amounts of energy for some reason, so she was the only option. It drained her completely and protected as much of its food as possible."

"Is that when you died?" He nodded grimly. His hands trembled in anger as he pointed at the crystal floating around Kida's neck.

"The very thing that is keeping her and her people alive is also the thing that will kill her. It must be destroyed, before it kills them all." Jack was slightly confused by this.

"Wouldn't that kill everything down here? The Crystal is what is keeping them alive."

"That's why you need to take them with you. This place is destined to die eventually, and you and your friends are the only ones that can save them."

"We can't save an entire people. We barely have enough supplies for ourselves. And where are they supposed to go? What…"

Karakain disappeared in a flash of blue light. Jack was back thrown back into his body. Kida was swimming next to him, as if no time had passed, shining her necklace onto the wall. She was looking at it intently, as if her staring at it would allow her to read.

Jack pointed upward and started swimming. He reached the surface only a few moments before Kida. She gasped for breath while Jack wasn't even breathing heavy. That was another perk of being a part of the Crystal it seemed.

"What did you read? We were barely down there a minute!" Kida exclaimed. "Did you read anything about a bright light in the sky? What happened to my mother?" Jack stopped her with a wave of the hand.

"It's complicated. All it said was that the Crystal used to be in the sky, like a second sun. It didn't say anything about your mother. I'm sorry." He wanted to tell her the truth, but it would only confuse her more. Better for her to not know that it was her father's fault that everyone was dead.

"You're sure?" She asked disappointed. Jack nodded. She looked defeated for a moment, but soon regained her vigor. "I'm going back down to look some more. You can go if you want." She took a deep breath and started to dive. Jack quickly grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"You can't read it anyway. Plus, it doesn't say anything about that." She yanked her arm away angrily.

"You barely even looked! If you don't want to help me just go. I need to find out how I can save my people!" She tried to dive again, but he caught her again.

"Look, there isn't anything down there that can help you." She struggled to break free of his grip again, but this time he didn't let go. He held tightly, but not hard, and she couldn't loosen a single finger.

"My people are dying! My father is dying! The crystal in that picture has to have something to do with it! I have to save them!" She started welling up with tears by the time she finished. Jack let go of her arm and floated in the lukewarm water as she sniffled.

"Okay, okay just stop crying." Jack said, cupping her face in his hands. She looked at him with those big blue eyes and he took a shuddering breath. _She is beautiful. Fuck me she is beautiful._ "I think my people can help your people. We can take you to the surface with us." She looked scared and pressed her hand against his.

"What if your leader won't take us?" Jack tensed up in anger. He hadn't thought about that. Rourke would never help them, especially not if Jack wanted him to.

"I won't let anything happen to you. You have my word." She smiled, her eyes still glistening with tears. Jack smiled back unconsciously. He realized that he still had his hand on her cheek and quickly pulled away, blushing. _Oh come on! Damn it Jack you are acting like a teenager!_ She giggled at his reaction. He looked away for a moment, and then back to her. She was looking at him differently now. She had an intense look in her eyes. She kept glancing at his mouth as she slowly swam over closer to him.

"Kida? Are you oka…" She pressed her lips against his before he could finish. Jack had kissed many women in his lifetime, but he never felt a feeling like that before. His entire body went numb for a second, followed by a tingling sensation, and finally just warmth. He struggled to breathe as the kiss escalated. Her soft lips explored his passionately. Their tongues touched slightly as kissed. He pulled her close to him. He could feel her stomach against his, and her breasts on his chest. The feeling of her heart racing was amazing. He could hear it pounding harder. After an eternity, they parted lips, but kept their foreheads touching as they caught their breath.

"Thank you, Jack." Kida sighed. Jack pulled back from her slightly.

"Thank me? What did I do?" He asked befuddled. She smiled awkwardly. Even in the small amount of light created by her crystal, he could see her cheeks change color. Her dark skin was shining from the refraction of the light, making her look surreal. He struggled not to let his jaw drop.

"You gave me hope." She grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in for another kiss. _Hope won't save your people, but I sure as hell will._ He closed his eyes in pleasure as she moaned slightly. Suddenly Karakain's voice spoke in his head. " _There isn't much time left to waste. The Crystal is on to you now. It won't let you take her without a fight."_ After everything that had happened to Jack that day, he wasn't at all surprised to hear the man. _Bring it on, I prefer a straight fight._ All thoughts of anything else drifted away as he kissed Kida. His hands slid down her back and he grabbed her butt. The toned muscles felt just as great as they looked. She giggled and wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him even closer if that was possible.

Jack lost track of time when they finally headed back to the surface. He raced upwards, smiling at her as he passed her. He reached the surface where they had jumped in. It seemed like it had been hours since they first got in, but the lights hadn't gone out in the lamps yet. Suddenly, he got a bad feeling. He looked onto the edge of the water and growled. He felt his fingernails dig into his hands as he closed them into fists.

"Did you have a nice swim?"


End file.
